Final Fantasy VII: Resurrection Dreams
by Gavin Mitchell
Summary: A light-hearted quest to acquire a unique present for the Traveller's birthday party turns into an all-consuming obsession after which no-one's life will be the same.


FINAL FANTASY VII:

****

RESURRECTION

DREAMS

BY GAVIN MITCHELL

Start date 09/09/02

To Katrin – lost but still she knows there is another world – and to James, who will know his relevance to the story. 

****

PROLOGUE

'Sir?'

'Yes, Fred?'

'Why is it that when you have Materia equipped, you can use magic?'

The teacher permitted himself a small smile. The class, less restrained, immediately started catcalls and whoops of laughter. 

'Well, Fred, you've been coming to my class long enough to know that. Can anyone else answer him?'

The usual girl's hand immediately shot straight up in the air; with her other hand beneath her elbow she seemed to be straining towards the sky, the look on her face one of agonised concentration, as though she was hanging off a cliff. The teacher ignored her. 

'Anyone at all…'

One of the other boys put his hand up, slowly and tentatively. 'Yes, Roderick.'

'Materia is… uh… the re… repository of the knowledge of the Ancients. By reaching within it you can access that knowledge and cast, uh, spells.'

'Very good, Roddy. Of course some would archly refrain from using the word _spell,_ but such pretentiousness, in my opinion, merely makes the whole affair more difficult to fathom than it has to be.

'Ok, we're coming near to the end of the session now, so, in case anyone has any burning issues that'll keep them awake the rest of the weekend otherwise, are there any further questions?'

The last statement was made with a knowing irony, as the teacher knew enough to be sure that all his young charges could think of right now would be _outside_. However, they often surprised him, as of now. One of the quieter, shyer girls tentatively raised her hand a few millimetres. 

'Rachel?'

'Sir?'

'Yes?'

'Why… is it that some Materia… no, some _people _are more powerful than others?'

The teacher rocked back on his heels, eyes widening. A little demon on his shoulder quietly whispered that he should just say _Good question,_ dismiss the class and go off to see his wife. But he resolutely ignored it. 

'Well, Rachel…' he started, 'I guess I should really answer both of your questions. Some people might be better at using Materia than others because of their native intellect, their spirit, their open-mindedness, or anything like that you can think of. But the one thing that can make people more powerful with Materia is _practise, practise and more practise_. So I guess you all know what your homework is for this weekend…' The class nodded dutifully. 

'Some people can be born more powerful, through genetics, or made more powerful through dangerous experiments. We all know that those of Cetra descent were far more attuned to the knowledge of their people than _Homo sapiens,_ and both Mako showers and Jenova cell treatments can cause a boost in raw power.

'It goes without saying that such experiments are not worth it because of their side effects.' And none of the class could dare to contradict him.

'Other than that… what can make Materia more powerful? Well, the more it is used the more spirit energy it absorbs from the environment, its own effects and from you yourself, making the spells you can access with it of a higher level. But then again, some Materia is intrinsically more powerful than others; Full Cure being more so than Cure, for instance. For some reason, different crystals had different sections of the Ancients' knowledge crystallise into themselves.'

Pausing, the teacher ran his hands over his close-shaven blonde hair, expecting as always to find much more. He pushed back his rimless glasses on his nose. 

'But does the range of Materia we know of represent the full range of the Ancients' knowledge? Good question, a very good question indeed…' The teacher's voice trailed off, and his eyes took on a vague, troubled look. The class eyed him uneasily. 

Until, the cluck struck the hour, a watch beeped on a boy's wrist, and as a small, inky tidal wave they surged towards the door. 

'Class dismissed,' muttered Cloud. 

***

'So finally,' said Tifa to the dojo across town, 'we will be doing some Post Standing.'

A few barely muffled groans came from the students, and Tifa smiled slightly. 'Yes, I know it's painful and unpopular, but you'll just have to trust in me. Assume the position!' 

The students as one sank into the difficult posture, struggling to relax while standing utterly still while maintaining an awkward pose for what could be up to fifteen minutes. 'I know most of you don't think very much of this,' Tifa continued conversationally as she wandered amongst the students, correcting postures here and there, 'but the whole point of this is to raise your internal energy.' 

The students kept their gazes fixed straight ahead, though the comely woman, wearing tight sweat top and gym shorts, would have turned heads anywhere. They had learned. 

'Internal energy has been known in all ages and in all cultures. The Cetra called it Spirit Energy. Shinra called it Mako. Jeremiah, straighten your back. The players of Wutai called it Qi. My own master Zangan used _chi_. Gurm, suck that fat belly in. All are correct. That energy never diminishes, never dies, but it is possible to raise your own internal store and awareness of it by this exercise. This awareness starts when your hands become hot and dry. Then, once you're aware of it, you can start to manipulate it. 

'And why, you ask? Sadie, please make at least some effort. The point to defeating any opponent is knowing how to use your own energy and his own energy against him. Or her, yes, Katherine, as you wish. If you fully understand your own energy, and that of your opponent, and your energy is at its maximum possible strength, you can be… 

'…invincible.' 

There was emitted a noise somewhere between a cough and a laugh. 

Tifa paused, seeming without turning to look behind her. 'Did you want to say something, Eric?'

'If you _insist, _Ma'am.'

'Knock yourself out.'

'Has anyone ventured the opinion that this is all a bunch of tree-huggin' hippie crap?'

There were a couple of smothered giggles and more than a few shocked gasps. 

Tifa merely raised her eyebrows. She had, of course, been waiting for this for a long time. It came up in this class as it had in the one the last year and the one before that. Her response would of course be the same as those other times. 

'I see. Would that happen to be your opinion, Eric?'

'If I were a betting man that'd be the way I'd set the odds!'

'Really? Are you that scared to commit yourself?'

Eric's eyes narrowed, obviously needled with the remark. 'Well, I can buy that Shinra could suck Mako out of the ground and power weapons off of it. I can buy that Materia users can manipulate it. I can buy that mutants like SOLDIERs and Jenova-spawn can power their powers off of it. I can even buy that all living things contain it.

'What I don't believe is that ordinary humans like me and yes, even you, Mrs Strife, can sense it. I mean, point to the organ or the gland in the brain marked "mako sensing organ".'

'Pituitary gland?' said Tifa _sotto voce_, but Eric was of course off on one and not listening. 

'So I don't believe it. There ain't nothing inside of me but blood, guts and shit.' There were a few more smothered chortles. Tifa merely raised her eyebrows, seemingly staring out of the window. 

'Interesting view for an otherwise excellent student,' she said eventually, gaze still fixed on Mt. Nibel. 'One could almost say you show a disturbing lack of faith, but it falls to me to convince you that there's anything to show faith _in. _Tell you what… Everyone, stand easy for a little while. Eric, take some of the mats and stack them against the wall there.'

Eric heaved a sigh that said clear as day, _I know where this is going_, and started taking the mats – each six feet long, three feet wide and an inch and a half of padding – and stacking them vertically. Meanwhile Tifa carried on. 

'I think I can honestly say that I have a good grasp of energy. So I think I have an experiment which will prove that it does exist within me and since I am the same biologically as any of you-' there were a couple of smothered snorts from the younger boys at this '-within all of you as well. Everyone, form a neat queue.'

The students, for once did not take advantage of the obvious joke waiting to be used and formed obediently into a line. 'Not you there, Eric,' said Tifa presently. 'You go at the back,'

'Huh! I'm last,' he muttered. 

The _sifu _then took up a fighting stance at the opposite end of the room to the mats, facing them. 'Now then, the first person in the queue,' she called out. 'Push against my upper arm.'

The young girl in front pushed her arm, quite gently and hesitantly. A pressure that would have barely sufficed to turn a door handle. 

'Now, you all behind her in the queue, push on the shoulders of the person in front of you.'

Wondering, they did as they were told. Most applied a fairly light pressure. As yet, there was no obvious strain.

'Now then,' said Tifa with just a hint of smugness, 'push. Push as hard as you can.'

Eyes widening, each to varying degrees did as they were told. The girl at the front gasped slightly as she felt a titanic pressure well up on her shoulder blades, and almost pulled back to try to prevent passing it all on to Tifa. She only mouthed back, _Don't worry._

'Come on!' yelled Tifa. 'You're not even trying!'

The students began to grow amazed at what was happening. Many were now putting out grunts of effort as they pushed harder and harder, and yet the small woman at the front – currently taking the weight of thirty-two students, all strapping young men and women – was not budging in the slightest. The muscles in her forward-facing arm were not even tense. 

Tifa held the pose for a while. 

'So this is what knowledge of your internal energy can do for you,' she said eventually. 'All I can feel right now is a slight pressure in my back foot. As _against _that, I can feel the internal energy of each one of you. The ones who don't believe are the ones who are trying the hardest, which is as it should be. Which leads me to the second part of my demonstration. Once you are aware of your opponents' energy, you can manipulate it as your own; so you can make them do…'

With seemingly no effort, Tifa shifted her weight forward over her feet, remaining upright and keeping her arm still. Moved as though by a titanic force, the entire line was hurled back against the mats stacked against the wall. Eric found himself at the bottom of a pile of around ten people. 

'…Whatever you want,' said Tifa to the pile. 

Eric hung around while everyone else was leaving, which did not go unnoticed by Tifa. This part of the discussion was as predictable as the first. She made a motion as of to head to the showers. 

'Bye, Eric,' she said. 

'I guess you got your revenge on me, then,' he muttered from behind her. 

She turned, and walked towards him. 'It isn't about revenge, Eric. Understand, it's nothing personal. 

'Look, I'll let you into a secret… someone always doubts this part of the lesson, and the demonstration is always the same. This year it just happened to be you. Don't worry about it.'

His eyes opened wide. '_Every_ year, you say.'

'Uh-huh.'

'Well, I guess you just about saw me coming.'

'That is about the size of it, yes.'

Eric sighed.

'Look, Eric, don't feel bad. This isn't as unpleasant as it sounds, but I'm going to set you some homework this weekend-' (groan) '-which won't take that long.

'The first part is to look up the old philosophical problem of the irresistible force meeting the immovable object. The second is to look up the old military practise of always making the biggest troublemaker in the section the lance corporal.

'So… next week.'

Touching him briefly upon the shoulder, she headed off to the changing rooms. Eric stood still for a minute, and then began to smile. 

***

Cloud and Tifa met by the windmill at the centre of Nibelheim. They kissed briefly. 

'How was your day?' he said. 

'So-so,' she responded offhand. 

Having both changed into smart casual wear, they headed to the house on the outskirts of town. 

'Another dinner with our landlord the Traveller,' said Cloud heavily. 'I can just imagine how the conversation is going to go. "During the war…"' 

'Oh, shush,' said Tifa, hitting him lightly on the shoulder. 'You love the old man really.' 

They were greeted on the top floor by the Kalm Traveller, probably the oldest and almost certainly the most talked-about figure in Nibelheim. He was called that as he had originally been from there, but had moved to Nibelheim to get away from the greater population density and his very real fame. While making light chitchat, Cloud and Tifa were treated to a sumptuous meal. However, both observed during the dinner that the Traveller was unusually sombre. The war went unmentioned, and instead he talked at length about people he had known, none of whom Cloud or Tifa had ever met. 

When the meal was over the Traveller went to the window and stared over the grassy plain, not speaking. The silence grew thick inside the room. Finally Tifa said:

'Are you looking forward to your birthday?'

He sighed heavily. 'Not remotely. One more year closer to the grave. Every breath leaving one less to my last.'

'Tell me about it,' muttered Cloud. 'I'm coming up for 30 this year, and it ain't gonna be pretty-' Tifa kicked him. 

'You might be old, but you've done more with your life than most entire families,' said Tifa brightly. 'You've travelled the world, seen the war with Wutai-' Cloud groaned inwardly '-watched the rise and fall of Shinra and Sephiroth, seen the Meteor destroyed and the world saved from destruction. You know more about the Planet than everyone alive.' 

He signed again. 'That may be so, Tifa. But what do I have to show for it? In the end I have nothing and no-one. Time was I had many friends. But Shinra, or the war, or Sephiroth, or the Weapons, or Meteor took them all.'

'You have _us_,' said Tifa brightly, but even in her own ears this sounded hollow. She was almost certain that they were the only people the Traveller could call friends, and this was in part only because he rented them a house. 

'I do, and it is a great joy to me. But I have lingered too long on this world. I've seen so many things destroyed… sometimes I think it would have been better if I went with them. If only I knew what it was all for. A meaning to it all…

He sighed again. 'Listen to me, just a morbid old man. You young people with everything to live for don't want to hear this.' He returned from the window, shook himself, and sat down. 'So tell me,' he said with forced brightness. 'When will the surprise birthday party be?'

'Surprise… party?' said Tifa faintly.

'Uh…'muttered Cloud. 

'Of course, I knew there was going to be one. Remember, I'm an old man. Please, tell me when it will be so I don't suffer a stroke or heart attack.'

'7 p.m.' Tifa muttered. 

'Well, that's good to hear. If only I had some more friends to come…'

'That's okay!' said Tifa enthusiastically. 'We'll invite our friends. They all want to meet you.' 

His face lightened. 'Well, I will look forward to that. I would like to meet Nanaki, Reeve and Cid, especially.'

'I'm sure they'll be happy to come.'

'Just remember to bring cheesecake and jelly beans. I like those.'

__

And a present that will make you feel young again, thought Tifa. 

****

CHAPTER 1

The next day, Tifa called Cosmo Canyon. 

'Nanaki, please,' she said to the operator. 

'I'll see if the Elder's available, Ma'am,' replied the operator brightly. 

Presently a new voice came to the phone. 'Nanaki,' growled the familiar, cultured tones. 

'Nanaki!' said Tifa. 'We haven't spoken in ages!'

'Tifa, my friend!' he answered. 'It is good indeed to hear from you again.'

'I hear you have some good news!'

'Oh yes!' he answered with warmth. 'As you may have heard, twelve of my race have made themselves known at Cosmo Canyon!' 

'That's wonderful! You thought you were the last.'

'It seems not. Apparently, when I was captured as a lab specimen by Hojo, the rest went into hiding. Only when all possible threats had been removed – mainly by us – did they think it safe to emerge.'

'Marvellous! Then perhaps we will be hearing the patter of tiny paws before long?'

'Huh! I could not possibly speculate!' growled the other voice, sounding angry, embarrassed, and yet somehow triumphant. Tifa could imagine that, beneath his fur, he was blushing. 

'So, anyway…Was there an additional purpose to your call?'

'Well, yes. A friend of ours is having a birthday soon, and firstly I'd like to invite you. All the old crowd'll be coming. Secondly…'

'Yes… what is it?'

'Well… our friend's feeling rather depressed. He's a very old, very wise man, who knows more about the Planet than anyone. But a lot of his friends are dead now and I think it's shaken him. I was hoping we could get a present for him… one that'll make him feel young again?'

'Hmm… an interesting question. I believe the friend you refer to is the Traveller, yes? He is something of a hero in Cosmo Canyon. It's said that if anyone manages to hire him for Cosmo Canyon they'll get two and a half percent of his first year's salary. But what present would he like… 

'I have it! I have heard rumours of just the present that might work. In recent times bounty hunters, pirates, adventurers and all matter of opportunists have been hunting the wreckage of Shinra's construction for things they can loot and steal. One of their prized locations has become the abandoned Underwater Reactor by Junon. It's said that if one finds within it a Ghost Ship and uses the Morph materia, one can transform it into something called a Guide Book. This is a huge book filled with information written in some strange language. No one can translate it, but it is my opinion that if anyone left on this Planet could, it would be the Traveller.'

'That's an excellent idea! Nanaki, you're a star.'

'I am glad to be of service, Tifa.'

After some more small talk, the conversation ended. Tifa put down the telephone.

__

Now how to get the Guide Book? she wondered. e's He

***

Some time later, Cloud made some calls of his own, and thus it was that the couple found themselves standing on the plain below Mount Nibel early on the first day of one of their free weekends. They carried supplies sufficient for a night spent away under harsh conditions, and carried arms sufficient for the worst of all possible bears. 

'You sure you want to go ahead with this?' said Cloud quietly, shielding his eyes as he stared into the sun, standing, waiting. 

'Oh, definitely,' said Tifa with a slight frown. 'You don't know what this will mean to the Traveller. And it's not exactly going to test us to our limits invading the Underwater Reactor. It didn't exactly last time… apart from the Carry Armour.'

'I don't know, though,' muttered Cloud. 'The monsters might have bred, and we're going to look like a right pack of fools if it isn't even the right language.'

'You see problems with everything,' cursed Tifa. 

'Whatever… Here's our ride.'

A black speck appeared in the sun, and grew with astonishing speed. Resolving itself into a Highwind VTOL Air Raid Vehicle, it swooped up to them, banked, switched the thrust of its engines to its underjets, and lowered itself to a smooth halt upon the grass. 

'Our ride!' Tifa yelled in delight. 'Thank you, Cloud!' She hugged him.

'I wonder how much this is costing Cid…'

'He's a rich man! And he likes flying! He won't care!' 

A door popped open with a rush of air. An inflatable stairway unrolled itself like a party whistle and bumped against the ground. 

'Y'ALL GET ABOARD THIS VEHICLE BEFORE I LOSE MY DAMN LUNCH!' boomed out of the Enemy Distresser Units. 

***

'Thank you, Cid. This is _so _nice of you,' bubbled Tifa aboard the airplane, as it sped west across the ocean. 

'Hey, don't mention it,' drawled the pilot. 'I heard there was a party invitation in it for me,'

'Oh, definitely. The Traveller's said how much he'd like to meet you.'

'Hey, that old man's never even seen a party getting started till I arrive…'

'How is SPEC doing?' inquired Cloud.

'Pretty good. The profit from the Highwind Flying Cars – it's amazing how many people can afford one of those, Reeve and Barret must really be doing things for the economy – pays for me to finance all the exploration expeditions I want. Can't go on them all, though…'

'Hey, Cloud,' said Tifa, punching his arm playfully, 'where's my flying car?'

'Piss off,' he muttered sourly. 'You know how much a teacher makes?'

She stared blankly, then frowned. 'Yes… I am too…'

***

'Thanks again, Cid. It was a wonderful ride.' Tifa leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. 

'Hey, it's been real. It's nice to have an excuse to get away from the office…'

'Even at weekends?'

'Even at weekends.'

'See Cloud, there are advantages to being a teacher…'

Cloud, staring out to sea (where, far over the curve of the Planet, lay Wutai) merely shrugged noncommittally, his hand stroking the hilt of his sword. 

'Well, suit yourself. Bye, Cid.'

'Sure, darlin'. I'll come pick you up tomorrow night.'

'Yeah… Bye,' murmured Cloud absently. 

'Well, that was… nice,' muttered Tifa, as she walked over to stand by Cloud. 'Now what? Are we heading into Junon?'

'Not just yet,' said Cloud, still staring out to sea. The air raid vehicle had landed on the grasslands about a mile horizontally out of Junon and about that much vertically, the town lying at the bottom of the cliff. Despite the loss of the cannon and the military installation, Junon lived on. Those who had fished before now fished again. The buildings above remained, preserved for all time as a memento of the folly of man, but were almost entirely deserted. However, a new subculture had sprung up – mechanics charging exorbitant prices to get the lift working long enough to transport bounty hunters, adventurers, looters, and just plain scum down to the Underwater Reactor. It was amazing how often the lift broke down – between visitors in fact.

'Why not? And why are you being so antisocial today?'

He turned around, staring west across the grasslands. 'I think you'll get it in a minute. Look, Tifa, I wanted to make this expedition as safe as possible. So… I've called in some help.'

'Help? What do you mean?' Tifa's face drained of all colour. 'Not the Turks.'

'No, not them,' said Cloud hastily. 'Er… well… not exactly.'

Tifa's eyes narrowed. 'What do you mean… not exactly?'

'There he is,' said Cloud. He pointed. 

A red dot had appear on the horizon. 'What is it?' said Tifa. 'I can't see…'

'You will,' muttered Cloud.

Tifa stared. Before long, her face fell while somehow, simultaneously looking relieved. 'Oh. I see what you mean.'

The red dot grew slowly, yet swifter than anyone could normally have expected for a human walking under the heat of the morning sun. It resolved itself into the shape of a man, a man clad in a red cloak with one strangely golden arm. He carried a gun. 

Soon enough, he reached them and halted half a dozen yards away. His red eyes, visible above the scarf around his lower face, flicked from one of the couple to another. 

'Hello, Vincent,' Tifa said cautiously. 

The eyes flicked to her. 'Tifa,' he said with a dead lack of affect. 'Cloud.'

Cloud shivered, despite the morning sun. 'How are you, Vincent?'

'Well enough,' said the ex-Turk tersely. 'I understand you need the might of my sidearm?'

'If you're willing…' said Tifa uneasily.

'To help you two, anything.' 

The couple clearly were fishing for something to say. Vincent stared at them neutrally. If he was aware of the effect he had on people, then he did nothing to alleviate it. 

'Well,' said Cloud peremptorily. 'Perhaps we should make a move,' He took a step towards the town.

'Wait,' said Vincent. Cloud halted instantaneously. Tifa tensed. Both had seen the gunman's sudden rages and transformations; and, while he had never attacked anyone who was not clearly an enemy, both could not shake their wariness nonetheless.

'Yes, what is it?' said Tifa softly. 

'I understand that this expedition is in aid of someone's birthday party?'

'That is correct… yes…' answered Cloud hesitantly. 

'Can I come?'

The couple exchanged glances. 'Of course you can,' Tifa answered with some surprise. 

He unwound the scarf from around his face. To their amazement, the couple actually saw him smile. 

'That's great,' Vincent said. 'I haven't been to a birthday party in almost 40 years. It'll almost be a first time for me…'

'Well… that's fine!' said Tifa, laughing nervously. 

'So… shall we go?' Vincent indicated the town. 

'Sure.' 

Vincent stalked off abruptly; Cloud hurried up to his side. 'Now then Vincent, let's get down to business. Do you possess a Sense and Morph Materia?'

'I do,' 

'Great. You'll need to use them on a creature called a Ghost Ship. Both myself and Tifa have them to maximise our chances. We'll also be trying to steal as much as possible to finance this expedition – we could really do with the cash. You may want to do the same.'

Vincent's mouth twitched. 'Whatever's mine, is yours.'

'Great… So…'

The two figures hurried off into the distance, Cloud struggling to keep up. 

Shaking her head, Tifa followed. 

****

CHAPTER 2

The birthday party went ahead as planned and, while the Traveller's expression of 'surprise' when everyone jumped out was somewhat forced, his expression of delight on seeing who his guests were was genuine. 

'Cid, founder of the Space and Planet Exploration Corporation! The only man who might have travelled more of the Planet than I have! And Reeve, head of RESCU! Without whom Shinra might have caused even more damage than they did! Barret, head of CCMC! Nanaki, elder of Cosmo Canyon! And Vincent, fellow traveller (as is my understanding). You can't imagine what a privilege it is to finally meet you all!'

The others smiled their greetings and asserted that they were the lucky ones. However the Traveller was soon hurried away by Tifa, to a huge rectangular cake, iced in the semblance of a giant book, covered by uncountable candles. 

'Here they are,' said Tifa grandly, 'all the candles we could get.' 

'Uh… thanks,' said the Traveller with some reluctance. He surveyed them. 'Even now, it seems you haven't got enough. But still.' He heaved a mighty breath, and blew. It seemed that his breath would not be strong enough to extinguish them all, but everyone present blew as well, and the moment was saved. 

'Thank you, my friends,' said the Traveller, gasping for air. 'But why was the cake in the shape of a book…'

'And now,' said Tifa grandly, 'the real present.'

With some effort, she lifted the cake away. Beneath it was an object of the same surface dimensions, but more than a foot and a half thickness. It was easily the size of a table and was covered with a cloth. With a flourish, Tifa swept the cloth away. 

Beneath it was an enormous book. 

The Traveller gasped. He raised his gnarled hand to his withered lips. He stared down at the book, eyes wide with wonder. He stumbled towards it like a man made stupid by drink, and threw back the cover. Every page, even the frontispiece, was closely covered in a tiny, hand-written and incomprehensible script. 

'The legendary Guidebook!' he gasped. 'The secrets of the Planet… are mine! Thank you my friends, thank you!'

'Hey, what damn language is it writ in?' complained Barret. 'I can't understand a single word.'

'That is, my friend, because it is written in Enochian. A language so ancient it predated even the Cetra, who spent many years decoding it.'

The bell rang softly at the door. 'Ah, that must be Yuffie,' said Tifa. 'She did say she might be late. Go and get the door, Cloud.'

Cloud got up and opened the door, then fell back in surprise. Two small men in ancient, archaic and ceremonial armour marched in at double time and fell in either side of the door, their hands on the hilt of their swords, standing stiffly to attention. 

'The Lady Yuffie of Wutai!' they both shrieked in unison in heavily western accented voices. 

Through the door swept a stately monolith, not unlike a ship under sail. Beneath a miasma of ornate, gilded, embroidered and perfumed kimono was the body of a curvy woman. Her face was caked with white makeup, and she waved slowly at herself with an iron fan. A huge mass of hair, piled on top of her head, was held in place with pins. 

'It is I,' she lisped with a heavy accent. Her voice seemed very much put on. 'We apologise for our late arrival, but our duties are pressing.'

Cloud was too surprised to speak. He had heard that Godo had passed on, but not quite realised what this would entail. 

Reeve seemed more at home with the situation. To those who had known him initially through his stuffed avatar, it was always difficult to reconcile knowing this dapper and cultured man, whose mannerisms and speech patterns were quite different to those of the cat. He stepped forward and bowed low before the Lady. She held out a tiny, perfumed hand, which he took delicately and touched to his lips. 

'We are honoured to meet you, Reeve,' lisped the monarch. 

Seeing, perhaps, that no-one knew how to take her, she moved forwards towards the book. 'Ah, this must be the birthday present that we have heard of. What secrets, pray tell, does the treasure offer.'

The Traveller had been oblivious to all this. He was poring over the book, mouth moving silently. 

'Oh?' he said, noticing her vaguely. 'I'm afraid I haven't had time to translate it yet. Good day to you.'

The Lady's eyes opened wide and she pursed her lips. 'My,' she said. 

Nobody else reacted.

'Yuffie,' said Cloud belatedly after a while. 'You've… filled out,'

Tifa shot Cloud a look of pure venom. He didn't notice. 

'What a way to confess to looking at my boobs,' she snapped in a quite normal voice. She reached up and carefully lifted her hair from her head. Everyone gasped. The wig came away in its entirety, revealing sweat-soaked short dark curls. Her makeup ended abruptly in a line across her forehead. 

'This thing is killing me,' she complained. 'I still can't believe the way I have to dress up.'

Everyone relaxed. 'Do you think I could take a shower?' The Traveller muttered assent, not looking up. She began to peel off the layers of court clothing. 'Seiji, fetch my change of clothes.'

'Hai!' snapped the samurai guard and rushed off at double quick time. 

'Yuffie,' said Tifa hesitantly. 'Would your bodyguards perhaps like something to eat or drink?'

'Oh, they're trained not to respond to anything but me whilst on duty,' she said carelessly, surrounded by a rapidly growing pile of clothing. Cid waved his hand in front of the remaining one's face. He didn't respond. 'And this pair are still on duty for another twelve hours. So no,' She had now stripped down to black lace bra and thong underwear. She stepped lightly over the clothing – abandoning it all on the floor – then padded unselfconsciously to the bathroom. The eyes of every man present followed her voluptuous body's progress. Even the Traveller ignored the book for a moment. 

Tifa hit Cloud in a Dim Mak point with her extended fingers, causing a horrible pain in his manhood. He lost any interest in Yuffie. 

'Have Seiji clear that lot up,' she called over her shoulder, 'then he can bring my stuff in here.'

***

From then on the ice was well and truly broken, as was Cloud's libido. Yuffie emerged with her face scrubbed clean, her real unmanageable hair and clad in shorts and a jumper. She proceeded to get very drunk and flirt outrageously with every man present. Cloud wondered if this might not be considered poor behaviour for a reigning monarch and looked over at the bodyguards every so often, but they remained utterly impassive. It seemed that Yuffie had an absolute power over them. It was difficult to reconcile this with her persona a decade ago and her current behaviour. 

The Traveller was only half there for the remainder of his birthday party, reading the book avidly and occasionally yelling out some incomprehensible sentence in delight. The rest seemed to enjoy themselves regardless, as the drink flowed freely. As Cid began to roll up weed in thin paper and set light to it Cloud pleaded a desire for fresh air and went out of the house. 

He walked round to the back and slumped down against the wall, staring up at the Shinra Mansion and Mount Nibel. For some reason, a helpless despair had taken hold during this party and despite the joy of everyone else, he was unable to shake it.

'The moon is down,' said a voice heavily. 

Cloud started, then recognised the voice. A pair of red eyes floated in the darkness by his side. 'Oh, it's you, Vincent. Couldn't take the fun any longer either, eh?'

'I said that I had not been to a birthday party for 40 years. I am beginning to regret not making it 50.' 

'Well, what can I say. Yuffie's acting like a wildcat on heat, Tifa looks daggers at me if I even turn in that direction, Cid's broken the drugs out, and-'

'How are you finding your life, Cloud?' cut in Vincent with a peculiar intensity. 

'Er… I don't know. It's pretty good… I guess,' responded Cloud in confusion.

'Pretty good? You guess?' rapped out Vincent. 

Something in the ex-Turk's tone cut through Cloud's words and exposed them for what they were. He lowered his head. 'I hate it,' he muttered. 

'Why? You have friends, a home, a worthwhile job and someone who loves you.'

Cloud shrugged, his mouth turning bitter. 'I don't know. You saw all those people in there tonight. They're all heads of corporations, hereditary monarchs, leaders of communities...'

'Heroes,' said Vincent softly.

'Yeah… exactly. I was a hero once and what do I have to show for it? Everyone's forgotten who I am, all I do is rot away here and teach magic use to kids who will never face anything on the level of Sephiroth in their lives.'

'Don't you think it's a good thing that kids won't have to face Sephiroth?' queried Vincent. 'Don't you think you should feel proud of achieving that?'

'Achievements don't buy flying cars,' said Cloud bitterly. 

Vincent's eyebrows rose, illuminated only by his eyes. 'And yet from where I am, this seems perfect. All that is left to me is to wander the world, alienated from those around me, unable to live amongst others, forever atoning for my sins of omission.'

'It's you that has chosen that,' said Cloud. 

'How interesting. I could make the same comment.'

Cloud stared into the other man's red eyes. There was a pause.

Then:

'Man, what a pair we are. Let's go back inside and stop being maudlin.' Cloud got up.

'Yes… perhaps we should,' said Vincent. 

****

CHAPTER 3

Friday morning at nine o'clock. As he did every other morning, Reno put his feet up on his desk and decided it was time for a drink. He reached for a tumbler and poured himself a generous helping of cheap whiskey. 

'Like some, Rude?' he asked conversationally. The big bald man was staring out of the office window. In the glass, forming a crescent, the words TURK DETECTIVE AGENCY were etched. Rude huffed and did not reply. 

'No thank you Reno, thanks for asking,' muttered Reno. He sucked deeply on his glass. 

At one minute past nine Elena burst through the door, her blue suit rumpled, her blonde hair matted with sweat, panting and gasping.

'Oh sir, I'm so sorry I'm late!' she heaved. 'Someone tried to mug me, and I had to kick his ass.'

Reno turned a bleary eye on the woman. 

'Elena, the rod up your butt is so far up your butt it's got a rod stuck up its butt,' he snapped, breathing whiskey fumes. 'Do I look like I give a rat's ass if you get here late? I'm only early because I ran out of beer at home. And knock off this "sir" crap. Do I look like a teacher to you? (Apparently that's what Cloud's doing now.)'

'Leave her alone, Reno,' said Rude wearily. 

Elena was evidently in no need of defence, however. Glowering at Reno, she swept his feet off his desk and slammed her own high-heeled boot down on the surface. Reno looked up in shock. 

'So I'm trying to be professional. So sue me!' she snarled. 'If it weren't for your slacking ways we wouldn't be a second-rate detective agency in a third-rate part of town.'

'That's a half-truth!' complained Reno. 

'And what are you doing drinking at nine o'clock in the morning? We have that kidnapping to deal with.'

Reno glared up at her. 

'Point one, my ditzy blonde employee,' he snapped. 'It's not nine o'clock in the morning, it's two minutes past nine now. And it's never too early for a drink. 

'Point two, the kidnapping is well in hand. Because, point three, this is a _celebratory _drink.' 

'Celebratory?' breathed Elena. Even Rude turned from the window. 

'Yes. At ten o'clock today we have a meeting with the kidnapper at an undisclosed location. I imagine he'll phone me right about now. Which just about gives me time for that drink I was talking about. Care for some?' Reno slurped loudly at the whiskey. 

Elena blinked, finding nothing to say and trying to still feel angry. Rude shrugged. 

Just then, Reno's cell-phone chirped. He raised it to his ear and swallowed, making a classic whiskey face in pain. 

'Reno speaking,' he said. 

'All right, punk, this is it!' snarled the familiar voice of the unknown kidnapper. 'Come to the plains, half way between Kalm and Midgar, with the 1 million ransom money in used tens and twenties, or Kristen Dio will never breathe again!' 

'Yeah whatever you say,' said Reno, smirking, to the telephone and was rewarded by a buzzing empty line as the kidnapper hung up. He gave a big thumbs up and cheesy grin to his companions – before having yet another drink. 

***

The three Turks took a hover-taxi to the agreed location and waited. Reno took with him a hip flask, and a satchel.

'What's in the satchel?' said Rude suspiciously. 

'Ransom money,' said Reno offhandedly. 

'RANSOM MONEY!?' shrieked Elena. 'You're not seriously going to hand over the money to that piece of slime! He'll just kill the girl!' 

'Relax, Elena,' glowered Reno. 'The ransom money is going nowhere other than Turk Detective Agency's bank account, where it will subsequently be spent on beer. This kidnapping is well in hand.'

'I sure hope you know what you're doing!' fumed Elena. 

'Hey, is this a face you can trust or what?' he smirked. 

The grassy fields stretched as far as the eye could see, save for the industrial wasteland of Midgar to the south-west and the picturesque spires of Kalm to the north-east. The sun shone brightly upon the plain. Reno winced as the light burned into his bloodshot, hungover, alcoholic eyes. He fished out a pair of sunglasses from his sleeve, perched them on his face and sucked hard at the hip flask. 

Elena, forgetting the taut situation, stared up at the sun and smiled at it beauteously. Rude stood still and impassive. 

Presently an engine noise, sounding in poor condition, could be heard in the far distance. 

'Heads up… here it comes,' muttered Reno. He took yet another swig at his flask. 'Blecchh… My mouth tastes like a rat crawled into it and died.'

The other ignored him, staring rapt as a speck appeared right out of the sun. Rapidly it grew into the shape of a buggy. The Turks tensed. 

The vehicle looked to be in a shocking state of repair, as though it had been abandoned ten years ago, left out in the rain for at least five and subsequently claimed by some opportunist – which was precisely what, in point of fact, had happened. It had once been red, but could now best be described as rusty. The mechanically minded Reno winced at the sight. 

Out of the car stepped a maniacally grinning figure. Elena gasped. 

'Kotch,' said Reno in elite contempt. 'Of all the no-good low-life fifth-rate crooks, you're just the worst. Lower than a snake's belly and twice as dirty and smelly.'

'Shut your marf!' railed the hood gleefully, prancing, dancing and jumping in position. By the looks of him he was high on an illegal herbal preparation used to boost Chocobo speed during races. Even the hard-drinking Reno could feel contempt for that. 'You know damn well I've got the girl buried in an undisclosed location, and her oxygen is fast running out. So pay up or she dies damn slow!' 

'All right, all right,' said Reno, holding up his hands to mollify the crook. 'Her father has authorised us to pay the full ransom of 1 million gil.'

'Ooh! I wish I could get my hands round that jerk's throat right now!' whispered Elena.

'He's the only one who knows where the girl is. She'll die without immediate rescue,' Rude whispered back. 

'Is that the money there in that satchel?' hissed Kotch, eyes alight with greed. 

'No,' said Reno calmly. Elena and Rude's eyes went wide with alarm. 

'NO? NO? WHAT THE HELL!?' The crook went apoplectic with rage, slamming his arm into his coat and feeling about for a gun with bruising force. But his limbs twitched so spasmodically he actually ripped his pocket and the gun fell to the floor. He flung himself down after it, groping through the dirt. Finally he grasped it in a hand shaking so badly he would have had little chance of hitting the Shinra headquarters from across the street. 

Throughout all this Reno watched him coldly, hand on his electric night-stick. Elena and Rude had seen him cut down assailants in a tenth of the time this farce was taking. And yet he did nothing. 

Kotch raised his now mud-streaked face, aiming at the Turks. 

'You've got a nerve coming here without the money!'

'Oh, but we have it,' said Reno coldly. 'Here,' He flung the satchel over at the crook. It hit him, and a few notes fluttered out. He ripped the bag open and gazed within. A few more notes flew away unheeded. Reno looked slightly pained, mentally calculating how many cans of beer each would have bought. The other two Turks exchanged alarmed glances. This whole sequence hadn't been part of the plan… assuming there was a plan at all. Reno had not deigned to share his ideas with them. 

'You got the money!'

'No. Not all. Since you're too much of a loser to ever have seen a million gil, you'll have to take my word for it that it is a LOT bigger than that. It filled several suitcases. We've ordered it to this location in a transit van. Will this be OK?'

The three Turks watched greed and fear crawl across the hood's face like grubs beneath an up-tilted rock. Finally greed won. 

'All right,' he said. 'I'll wait for the van. But remember… any funny stuff, anything happens to me, and the girl will never breathe again.'

'Oh, I'm sure of that,' responded Reno offhandedly. 'I think I can hear the van coming now…'

The other Turks looked around, startled, for they had heard nothing; but the comment sent the crook into a frenzy of sniffing the air and listening to the ground. In fact it was a few minutes before an engine noise could clearly be heard. A van came barrelling out from the direction of Kalm and skidded to a halt on the grass. Kotch immediately rushed towards the rear doors. 

'The van's yours, too,' said Reno unnecessarily. 

'A million gil! Mine all mine!' babbled Kotch as he wrenched the rear doors open. Then his eyes went wide in horror.

'Oh no!'

Two people leapt from the back of the van in a rage. The first was Dio, ex-professional wrestler and now manager of the Gold Saucer and father of one. The second was his daughter Kristen, teenage martial artist, pleasure-seeker of rather loose morals and up until recently, kidnapping victim who had been buried with only a week's oxygen. She had been _very_ grateful to be rescued by Reno the day before.

The two of them were now _very_ angry. 

'Ah! Ooh! No! Ouch! My nads! Stop!' called out Kotch pitifully from beneath a whirlwind of flailing fists, feet, pile drivers and body slams. There was to be no fixed wrestling here today. 

Reno placed his arms around his colleagues' shoulders and gently led them away from the carnage. 

Elena was, quite literally, overwhelmed. All the more so because the girl had been saved by her perpetually drunk and lazy boss. 

'Reno… how did you… how…' she babbled. 

'Simple,' smirked the ex-Turk. 'I found the girl's secret location and dug her up out of the ground. She was _very_ grateful.'

'You _pig_!' snarled Elena. She fetched him a stinging slap upside the cheek and stormed off. 

'Ow,' muttered Reno, caressing the side of his face. He decided not to reveal the fact that the girl had been buried in the nude at this moment in time. 

'Hey, Reno,' called out his bald male colleague. 'How'd you know where to find the girl?'

Reno smiled despite the pain and swelling. 'That would be telling. Now where are those journalists I ordered?'

Half a dozen specks appeared in the sky, which began to fill with the sound of chopper blades. While his daughter still pounded on the crook, Dio came over to the blue-suited pair. 'Thank you, Reno,' he said. 'You know how grateful I am to have my only daughter back.'

'And the reward, as we agreed?' prompted the ex-Turk.

'The ransom money, this van – and the five suitcases… are all yours.'

'I love it when a plan comes together,' grinned Reno.

'But Reno… there's just one more thing,'

'What's that?' slavered the boozy ex-Turk, drooling at the thought of yet more incredible reward. 

Dio gave him a punch in the stomach. 

'Stay away from my daughter, you goddamn lousy drunk!' he shouted and stormed away. 

'OOH!' moaned Reno and crumpled to his knees. Kristen paused long enough in her stomping to blow the ex-Turk a kiss. Unfortunately, he was in no state to notice. 

'Yo, Reno,' advised Rude. 'Heads up. The newsies are here.'

Reno pulled himself to his feet, trying to force a grin out of the grimace. He sucked deeply on his hip flask, hoping it would ease the pain. 

Elena returned, smiling dazzlingly, as a forest of microphones, an aurora of lights and a wall of cameras appeared. 

'This successful case just goes to show,' bragged Reno to the world, the pain from the blows apparently all gone, 'that if there's nowhere else you can turn. There's no-one else who can solve your problem. There's always one more number you can call.'

'The TURKS know how to party.'

****

CHAPTER 4

'WE DID IT ALL FOR THE NOOKIE,' read Tifa in disbelief over the breakfast table as she went through the day's paper. 'Reno, head of the Turk Detective Agency, commenting on his awesome rescue of kidnapped Gold Saucer heiress.'

Cloud looked up from gobbling breakfast cereal and stared at her. 'You wha?'

'Yes, it seems they've really done it this time. There's more: '"AWFUL DETECTIVE AGENCY IS AWFUL RICH". When asked what he planned to do with the reward money, Reno commented that he was going to get "a butt tattoo, with a tattoo of a butt tattooed on it, tattooed on his butt." Elena mentioned donkey sanctuaries as a possible further option.'

'My, those Turks, what a laugh a minute they are,' muttered Cloud heavily. 'One wonders wherever they found time to harass Ancients and drop Midgar plates on entire city sectors in between the laughs, the smiles and the merry japes.'

'Well, there's no time to worry about that now,' said Tifa briskly, folding the paper away. 'Remember the Traveller wanted to see us urgently this weekend.'

'Oh, bloody hell,' groaned Cloud. 'He's probably remembered some more old war stories. On Saturday morning as well.'

'Cloud, you miserable jerk! He's had a week, he's probably had time to translate the Guide Book now and he probably wants to tell us about it!'

'All that ancient knowledge of the Planet's deepest secrets makes me wonder why the hell I should care.'

'Piss off,' muttered Tifa, getting ready to leave. 'It must have been terrible for that poor girl though, trapped under the ground with no light… no food…knowing that soon there's going to be no air…'

'Not for her,' said Cloud sardonically, taking Tifa's arm as they went out the door. 'She's apparently the most sought-after kidnap victim on the Planet. Quite logical really since there's only one really rich man with one daughter. Apparently she's foiled over thirty attempts herself using martial arts.'

'Perhaps I should go spar with her sometime.'

'About that many have succeeded, though. She's apparently been buried three times already.'

'So it must be nothing new. Hey, Cloud!' erupted Tifa, snapping her fingers. 'That explains how Reno managed to find her.'

'Yes, I know. He got her to swallow some kind of electronic location device in anticipation of another burial.'

'Where did you read that?'

'I didn't read it anywhere. Reno's making out he's some big detective genius. Not very difficult at all really.'

'There, there, Cloud,' soothed Tifa, patting his arm maternally. The warrior glowered. 

By now they had arrived. The door opened before they had even had chance to knock upon it. 

'My friends, I'm so glad to see you!' enthused the Traveller. The old man seemed to have taken on a new lease of life. His shoulders had straightened, there was a fire in his eyes akin to the bloom of youth, and he actually wore a smile. 'Please, come inside.'

He immediately led them over to the Guidebook. It had been set as in pride of place, taking up most of the dinner table. The rest of it was covered with reams of elaborately-scrawled, incomprehensible notes. He started pawing through them straight away they arrived.

'I'm glad to say that I've finally managed to read the Guide Book,' he said. 'It took me a week… less than the novelisation of _Loveless_… but I finally did it. It is packed with an immense wealth of the Planet's wisdom. With this knowledge, I could be a millionaire with thousands of inventions, or a tyrant ruling o'er the land. But by far the most interesting passage, worth more than all of those things, is – this!' He gestured dramatically at the page the book was opened to. 

'Any chance of a cup of tea?' said Cloud heavily. Tifa shot him a look of purest venom. 

'Of course, where are my manners?' He bustled over to the tea things, but carried on talking as he did it. 

'The passage in question speaks of the WEAPONs and how they were created to protect the Planet from devastation… this we know. It tells of how they were created in order – Sapphire, Diamond, Ultimate, Emerald and Ruby – each three times more powerful than the last. This is also known to us from the battle against Sephiroth and Meteor. After they were destroyed, the two remaining WEAPONs, Emerald and Ruby, ceased the majority of their activities. Emerald Weapon occasionally preys upon shipping, and Ruby causes earthquakes in the desert, but this is nothing compared to the damage they could be causing. 

'What has gone unnoticed, however, is the fact that defeating each of these WEAPONs would lead the victor to be able to claim a special item. Here's your tea. This was only known to the eldest of the Cetra, those most connected to the Planet, and they guarded the secret with their lives, lest someone foolish and impetuous caused a WEAPON attack and tried to take the treasure. 

'Two of the items were lost when Shinra destroyed the WEAPONs with their Mako Cannon. The Magic Bullet now lies far beneath the surface of the ocean, and the Lifeblade Components are lost in the icy wastelands to the north. However, Cloud claimed the Ultima Weapon when he defeated its holder and subsequently, loaned it to the Planetary Museum at Cosmo Canyon. I assume you must have retrieved it, however, for your excursion to find the Guidebook.'

'Uh… I've been meaning to take this back,' said Cloud sheepishly, fingering the hilt of the huge magical weapon on his back. 

'I'm sure. However the items which remain to be claimed from the Ruby and Emerald Weapons are the most valuable of all. 

'Like the Lifeblade, these items are doubly hidden. The items must first be retrieved and then a special spell cast from this book, making it virtually impossible that anyone could ever take advantage of their power. 

'Defeating the Emerald Weapon makes it possible to claim the Earth Harp. This is an enormously difficult task, not least because no human, Cetra or member of Nanaki's people could survive without air. Indeed this can only be done with an Underwater Materia, one of which has been mounted into the rear cover of this book.' The Traveller turned to the back. There, embedded in the thick wooden cover, was a glowing purple materia. 'It will generate a sphere of breathable air around it for a twenty metre radius. 

'The Earth Harp can then be transformed into three wondrous prizes, the Master Summon, Master Command, and Master Magic materia. These materia combine the powers of all the Summon, Command and Magic Materia that exist into one. Anyone who got hold of these materia would be virtually invincible. 

'Apparently not enough, however, to be able to defeat Ruby WEAPON. This is apparently by far the most lethal of all. Defeating it, though, allows one to claim the Desert Rose. This can then be transformed into the legendary Gold Chocobo, one of which has not been seen for hundreds of years. This Chocobo had the legendary ability to walk upon water.'

Tifa gasped. Cloud's eyebrows rose, but overall he was less impressed. 

'Now this Gold Chocobo was doubly valuable, because the Ancients had also hid some of their own most powerful Materia in secret caves accessible only to a magic Chocobo. With the death of Teioh, the last remaining Black Chocobo, the last bird which was capable of reaching even one of these caves is gone. A great shame that this knowledge was not known before, otherwise we could have sought these wonderful Materia out. 

'With the Gold Chocobo, though, it would become possible once again. The Ancients scattered five materia in hidden caves throughout the world, so that their power would not fall into the wrong hands. They were the Quadra Magic, Mime, HPMP, Knights of the Round, and the most powerful of all…

'the _Silmaril_.'

'Silmaril?' muttered Cloud faintly. It was like no word he had ever heard. 

'That was its formal name. It was informally called the _Resurrection True_ materia.'

A paralysing shock hit Cloud. He barely managed to avoid dropping his cup of tea. 

'Resurrection True materia,' said Tifa curiously. 

'That's right. Revive materia are moderately easy to find, as are Phoenix Down preparations. These are able to resurrect people who have just died in combat. However, there are many conditions under which they do not work. They do not help anyone who has died from disease, from old age, from asphyxia, from drowning, or those who have been killed with certain magical weapons such as the Masamune and Murasame blades and the Death Penalty rifle.'

'Don't I know it,' said Cloud heavily, an ancient sorrow thick in his voice. But his mind blazed with one word… RESURRECTION… RESURRECTION… RESURRECTION…

'This Silmaril could resurrect those who had died under _any_ conditions. It could cure disease, and reverse the effects of magical weapons, but could not cure the ravages of old age. Thus the elderly would soon die once again, and thus for that purpose it was not used. But for others…'

'But if the Ancients had such a powerful tool of resurrection, how then was it that they were all but wiped out by Jenova?' queried Tifa. 

'The ceremony for resurrection is long, requires great effort – and more courage than is possessed by most. At the climax of a long ritual, the summoner must commit seppuku in the ancient fashion, and their second must strike off their head. Only then will the resurrection take place.'

'But the seppuku victim could be resurrected with a Revive or Phoenix Down… right?' asked Cloud faintly. 

'The text does not go into it. It is theoretically possible, of course… assuming the summoner did not use a magical blade.'

Tifa shrugged. 'Well, it's all academic anyway. You have to kill the Ruby and Emerald Weapons to get it, and we all know that that will _never, ever happen._'

Cloud, however, was not so sure.

***

Later that night, Cloud dreamed. 

He was standing once again at the bottom of the North Crater, after he had defeated Sephiroth. The Lifestream flowed, a raging torrent, above him. Reaching down from the stream was a delicate female hand. A hand that looked so familiar. He reached up to touch it…

… and the vision faded abruptly. Tifa grabbed him and pulled him to safety. 

Then, everything became grey. He found himself standing in a vast expanse of nothing. Feeling a presence on the back of his neck, he spun round. 

Behind him was Aeris.

__

No… not again… 

The sleeping Cloud thrashed and moaned. Tifa squeaked in her sleep and turned away from him. 

'It's me, Cloud,' said the apparition quietly. 'Aeris. The girl who died…'

'I… I… I know…' Cloud whispered brokenly. He fell to his knees, his head in his hands. 

'You could have saved me, Cloud,' she accused in low, flat tones. 'You could have confronted Sephiroth and prevented him from stabbing me.'

'I couldn't… he was inside my head… and he was too strong…'

'Then you could have resurrected me. Somewhere in the world, there must have been a way.'

'I couldn't… it was impossible… I tried so many times… but I failed.'

'The general in the pipe might have known how to do it. Bugenhagen might have known.'

'Those men are dead, Aeris!' 

'Perhaps if you returned to my burial site… or my house… or my church…'

'I did those things! So many times!'

'It's not enough,' and with that, Aeris vanished. 

Cloud awoke, sweating and shaking, like he always did. He had not had this nightmare for years, but in the time immediately following the defeat of Sephiroth, he had done all of the things Aeris had mentioned and more. He and Tifa had scoured the Planet for someone or something that could bring Aeris back. He had achieved nothing and meanwhile, Cid, Barret and Reeve were founding their business empires and Yuffie was making Wutai a great military power again. It had been a year before himself and Tifa had acknowledged defeat and returned to Nibelheim to take quiet jobs as teachers, their will for adventure, strife and effort forever broken. 

And now the dream had returned. And Cloud knew why. 

'Wake up,' he whispered brokenly to his wife. 'I want you to cuddle me.'

Obligingly, Tifa turned over and loosely put her arms around his neck, still asleep. She fell back into deep slumber once again. 

Cloud lay there still awake. It was so dark here out away from the bright lights of civilisation that he could not see his wife's face a few inches away. 

I have to do it, thought Cloud. I got Aeris into this whole crazy struggle for the Planet. I let her be captured by Shinra and sacrifice herself. I should have made her hide in safety with Marlene, but she wouldn't let me. I'm so weak. And it's all my fault. My weakness has ruined everything in my life, just like when I never got into SOLDIER and couldn't admit it. 

Only bringing Aeris back can redeem my fatal flaw. 

****

CHAPTER 5

The following Saturday, Cloud had requested a meeting of the ex-members of AVALACHE, and all had been glad to heed the call. The meeting was to be held at noon in the hall of Cloud's school. Many with long journeys ahead of them had arrived the night before, and Tifa had offered them dinner and drinks. Cloud, however, had avoided everyone, climbing Mount Nibel on his own, staring into the sunset and eventually spending the night in a tent. He only came down again shortly before the meeting, ensuring that no-one had a chance to see him beforehand. It was obvious that Tifa was not happy with him on any possible level and the rest were rather unnerved by this, but he wanted the shock value to be as strong as possible. 

When he finally entered the hall at one minute to twelve, everyone was seated facing the stage and conversing in hushed tones. A murmur started up at his appearance, then died down abruptly. Cloud climbed the stairs to the stage, purposely avoiding eye contact with everyone. However, he could watch them out of the corner of his eye. 

Tifa was in the front row, glowering at him with a mixture of desperate concern and furious anger. Cid had obviously enjoyed the dinner and drinks the night before; he looked very bleary-eyed. Yuffie did not resemble either of her personae from their previous meeting and was now power-dressing in a short-skirted, very severe business suit. Her samurai bodyguards also now wore suits, with several unsightly pistol-shaped bulges. She stared at him with a freezing suspicion. Nanaki was with another of his species, the two nestling very closely together. They clearly had little interest in what was going on and had eyes only for each other. The rest were unchanged, though they were all obviously curious. Only Vincent's crimson gaze was dead of expression. 

Already installed upon the stage, as Cloud had requested, were the Kalm Traveller and the Guidebook. 

'Well, I'd like to thank you all for coming,' said Cloud briskly, walking to the front of the stage. 

'Before you get started,' snapped out Tifa, 'Nanaki would like to say something. Then I'm sure we will all be _very_ grateful to find out exactly what is going on.'

'I apologise for the secrecy and my absence up until now,' said Cloud smoothly, 'but I can guarantee that ten minutes from now, you won't believe what I will just have told you.'

'I don't know,' growled Cid. 'I can imagine an awful lot!' He dry-swallowed some aspirin and hurled the rest away.

Time was Cid's rough wit would have made Cloud smile, but now it just irritated him. 'So what was it you would like to say?' he said to Nanaki.

'Simply that, myself and Bemak are happy to announce our engagement,' Various congratulations came from the assembled people. Cloud made the same out of politeness, but was consumed by what he himself wanted to say. 

When the murmurs had died down (and Cloud had observed silently to his consternation that it was now twenty past twelve) he called out, 'Well, next I'd like to introduce the Kalm Traveller to you again. You'll recall that at his birthday, we presented him with the Guidebook. He has now translated it and would like to tell you all what he has found.'

The Traveller got up and went through his speech from the previous weekend. Cloud sat down beside him and studiously avoided everyone's gaze, especially Tifa's cold expression. 

By the time he had finished there was a dead silence. Cloud finally made eye contact with his audience and saw them all transfixed. Cid seemed to have lost his hangover, Nanaki and Bemak seemed to have lost at least some interest in each other and Yuffie's eyes blazed with a burning greed. Even Vincent looked speculative. 

It was clear that most if not all of them had guessed why they had been asked here today. Tifa's face like thunder proved it for her too. But Cloud, like all showmen, had planned to spell it out for them. 

'Thank you, Traveller, for that most enlightening speech,' he said. 'And now, what I have to say to you is simple. 

'We who are gathered here today are possibly the finest warriors upon the face of the Planet. Our defeat of Sephiroth proves this. Therefore, if anyone has any chance of doing this, it's us.'

'I propose that we – along with some reinforcements – take on and destroy the Emerald and Ruby Weapons.'

'Yes!' barked out Yuffie, pumping her fist in the air. Most others gasped and then raised their voices into an excited babble. 

'Gentlemen and ladies!' called out Cloud. 'Can we express our opinions one at a time.'

'Damn straight I want to destroy the Emerald Weapon!' yelled out Cid. 'That monster keeps sinking my ships.'

'Only because they burn fossil fuels and pollute the environment,' muttered Reeve.

'Hey-hey! You try running an ocean-class vessel on sun and wave power,' sneered Cid.

'Well, maybe if you'd pay anyone else to do any research…'

'I'M the only researcher I need!' yelled the pilot.

'What's wrong with fossil fuels anyway, fool? Damn sight better than Mako energy,' snapped in Barret.

'Gentlemen…' said Cloud faintly. It was degenerating into a free for all. 

'What's in it for _us_?' cut in Yuffie. The argument – and all other noise – died abruptly. 

Cloud cleared his throat. 'Well,' he said, 'the gratitude of the assembled peoples of the Planet, of course-'

'Worthless,' she replied in clipped tones. 'I'm talking about the materia.'

The silence grew thick. Everyone slowly turned to stare at her with varying degrees of hostility. She glared back, unfazed. The samurai guards edged towards her. 

'Please, people,' said Cloud weakly. 'I'm sure we will be able to work something out. Remember, let us not count our chickens before they are hatched. Yuffie is a ruling monarch. No doubt she will be able to reimburse the group as a whole for the value of any materia she requires.'

'I'm happy to do that,' said Yuffie with a chilly smile. The rest were slightly mollified.

'All right,' said Cloud, 'can I go around everyone and ask for their agreement or otherwise?'

'I'll do it,' said Cid. 'Insurance premiums for my ships are killing me.'

'I, too,' continued Reeve. 'Threats to shipping are bad for trade.'

'And me!' growled Barret, waving his arms in the air. 'Some of those ships are carrying my coal.'

'The people of the Planet are threatened by the WEAPONs,' growled Nanaki. 'I'll come along. Bemak, though, must stay behind; the survival of our race is vital.'

'I'll do it,' said Vincent tersely. There was a brief pause. 

'I want the Materia,' said Yuffie coldly. 'Just try and keep me away.'

'Am I the only one who thinks this is a bad idea?' said Tifa faintly. 

Her comment fell on deaf ears. She was.

***

Very much later, when the companions had enjoyed a celebratory lunch and made variously protracted farewells, Tifa stalked back to the house, tight-lipped. Cloud shrugged at the Traveller and hurried after her. 

'Know this; I don't appreciate what you just did,' she snapped as he caught up. 

'Why, Tifa? Everyone else thought it would benefit the Planet.'

'Yeah, well that's hardly proven, is it? The Ancients must have had a good reason for keeping all that knowledge hidden. Didn't the Traveller say they wanted to stop it falling into the wrong hands? Everyone seems to have forgotten about this.'

'But that was to stop someone unsuitable getting the power of the Silma- the materia,' finished Cloud belatedly. 

She turned one cold eye upon him. She strode over to the kitchen counter and started making coffee with uncharacteristic violence. 'Well, it's not explicitly stated, and I don't agree. We have no idea how the WEAPONs are tied into the life of the Planet. 

'And you've just given yourself away, Cloud. How can you risk the lives of your friends on what is really your private obsession?'

'It's not!' he responded lamely. 'The others want their own things, they said so.'

'Not relevant, is it? You just want the Silmaril.'

Cloud found himself unable to deny it. ''Yes… okay, I do. But is that so wrong?'

She turned towards him, arms folded, lips compressed to a thin line. 'Maybe so, maybe not. Look, it's already cost us a year of our lives trying to resurrect Aeris. And you're prepared to risk the entirety of everyone else's? What's wrong with this picture?'

'She was your friend too, how can you say that?' cried Cloud, hearing his own voice rise plaintively. 'Surely while there's even the slightest chance, the slightest hope, we have to take it.'

'Can the needs of the few outweigh the needs of the many?'

'How can you be so cold?'

She sighed, her anger gone. 'I can't. I know I'd love her to breathe again. And besides, I can't let my husband and my friends walk into this alone.'

'Tifa…' They embraced. 

'Oh Cloud, my love, I just hope you know what you're doing.'

****

CHAPTER 6

On the observation deck of _Highwind II _Lady Yuffie Kisarigi stared out at the landscape going by at supersonic speed. The curvature of the view bubble meant that the ground seemed almost as though it were beneath her feet. This was a design feature that might have unnerved some people, but Yuffie seemed unfazed by it. Indeed, she seemed to be paying little attention to the view at all, her eyes unfocussed, her mouth tight-lipped and downturned. Her left hand clutched a huge shuriken, her right hand clutched an iron war-fan, both tight to her waist. 

Tifa padded up silently behind her, feeling uneasy and reluctant. Still, she felt she had to say something.

'Can I help you?' said Yuffie neutrally, not turning around. 

Tifa cursed. She had thought she was silent. 

'Can I join you? I was hoping to ask you about fan-fighting.'

Yuffie seemed to relax, and shuffled slightly aside in the observation bubble, moving her hand forward. Tifa stepped up beside her. Yuffie held up her iron fan, and Tifa examined it closely. 

'Nice weapon,' she said. This was a strictly utilitarian description; the fan was of plain iron and bore no decoration whatsoever, but it had eight linked Materia slots and its edges were clearly of the finest, hardest steel. 

'I know,' said Yuffie proudly. 'I found this in a museum. Fans don't have anything like the exposure that the other ancient weapons do. The male upper classes always used katana and kyu bows, the ninja always used shuriken and ninja-to, the peasants always used bo and jo sticks. Fans were always used by weakling, aristocrats' daughters.' An edge of bitterness had crept into her voice. 

'What made you decide to start using it?' said Tifa carefully. 

'Well, my bodyguards reckoned I should learn a weapon for close-quarter combat, as likely that's what I'd have to deal with if they went down. And of course, the advantage of a fan is that it doesn't _look_ like a weapon, you can just sit there fanning yourself with it. Till I emerge from under my costume in all my sexy glory and kick some butt.' She smiled slightly. This was the only touch of the old Yuffie that Tifa had seen. 

There was a brief silence. 

'You really want the Materia, don't you?'

'Oh, yes,' she said, staring out of the corners of her narrowed eyes at Tifa. 'I made that clear from the outset. I'd like all of them except the Silmaril, and I'll pay good money for them. Wutai… has need of Materia.'

'No Silmaril? No loved ones you'd like to bring back?' said Tifa more harshly than she'd intended.

Yuffie laughed harshly. 'Why would I want to do that?'

There was an embarrassed cough behind them. Both spun around. 

'Excuse me for interrupting,' said Cloud feebly, 'but time calls.'

Cloud did not look good. He was green. His knuckles on the hilt of his Ultima sword, carried openly in his hand, were white. He's terrified, Tifa realised. I've seen him go into battle against Sephiroth, Jenova and Hojo and he never showed any fear. 

'I'm good to go,' said Yuffie. She walked past Cloud without a backward glance. 

'That's everyone,' whispered Cloud, 'except Vincent.' the observation deck was now deserted save for Tifa, standing uneasily before him. 

'I am always here,' said a sepulchral voice. Vincent emerged from the darkness of the corridor connecting the observation deck to the bridge.

'I wish you wouldn't do that,' muttered Cloud.

'Were you listening to our conversation?' said Tifa uneasily. 

He ignored her. Vincent stepped up to Cloud, and placed his claw hand on his shoulder. 

'The fear of success can be as great as the fear of failure,' he said without emotion. 'Be careful you know what you want.' Vincent turned on his heel and strode abruptly away. 

Tifa stepped up to Cloud, her gaze questioning. Cloud could not meet her eyes. 

She took his hand, and together they left the deck. 

***

Cid's main manufacturing unit was a purpose-built city and factory complex on the coast between Junon and Midgar. The _Highwind II_ set the crew down on the grass a couple of miles out from it and headed off to the complex to refuel. 

'It shouldn't be long now before our Undersea Stealth Vehicle arrives,' Cid told them confidently. He enjoyed one last cigarette while he was outside of controlled atmosphere. 

'When you say "undersea stealth vehicle" you mean "submarine" right?' said Cait Sith in chirpy, sarcastic tones. 

'Ha! I see you're too cowardly to come and fight this battle using your real body, Reeve, you old scoundrel!' crowed Highwind. 

'Au contraire. I'm here Cid. Beside you,' said the executive mildly. 

'Yaargh!' shrieked Cid, leaping two feet in the air. Coming down, he stared in alarm at the catlike avatar on his left and in annoyance at the blue-suited manager on his right. 'Where the hell have you been all this time? And how can you control that stuffed freak while you're walking and talking?'

'I've been on your airship all the time. Perhaps you should pay more attention,' responded Reeve, grinning. This was rather an unfair statement, however, as the new airship was the size of a small ocean liner with about as many entertainment facilities. 'And as for controlling my avatar, well, it's called multitasking. You should try it sometime.' Reeve hefted a composite bow. 'I thought fighting this battle on two fronts at once would maximise our chances.'

'Showoff,' muttered Cid, while thinking hard how to design a multitasking avatar of his own. 

'Here's our submarine,' said Tifa wearily. Like everyone else, she was growing tired of the old friends' somewhat unique sense of humour.

'We move out,' rasped Yuffie, and started heading for the shore. 

'Hold on,' cut in Cloud. 'We have a few more reinforcements yet to arrive.'

As one, they all turned and stared at him. 'Well, I did say that we would be taking a few reinforcements with us,' he said neutrally. 'Nobody raised any objections at the time.'

'I think we were a bit preoccupied!' said Tifa in fury. ''This better not be who I think it's going to be!' 

Cloud's silence was taken as consent. As one, the others turned around and stood in a defensive, hostile line, facing towards an engine noise just now coming out of the west. Cloud shook his head in resignation and stood behind them, looking sheepish. 

Predictably, the engine noise turned into a buggy (now in a rather better state of repair thanks to Reno) which pulled up and discharged the Turks. Elena's sunny face fell on beholding the wall of hostile stares. Rude stood impassive. Reno openly sneered. 

'I will not fight with these murderous, dishonourable hu-mans.' Nanaki said coldly. 

'Nor I,' said Tifa frostily. 'I think you can turn round and drive back the way you came, Turks.'

'Hey, what's all the commotion?' sneered Reno. 

'Give them a break, people?' wheedled Reeve. 'I used to work with these guys. They aren't that bad.'

'Me, too,' muttered Cid. 'I guess we're all just soldiers.'

'I read about their saving a kidnap victim,' said Vincent softly. 'Perhaps even the most evil can have a change of heart.' 

'The only reason they know how to save kidnap victims is the number of people they kidnapped themselves!' snarled Tifa in fury. 

'Screw this! I'm not going into battle with these jerks!' yelled Barret, waving his arms in the air. 

Elena looked almost about to cry. Rude touched her shoulder reassuringly. 

'Grateful lot you are,' hissed Reno. 'Personally I think your money's as good as anyone else's, but if you feel that strongly about it…'

'Enough of this childish infighting!' snapped Yuffie. 'I have materia to acquire!'

'Well, it seems that _vox populi _has decreed we do not fight with the Turks,' cut in Cloud quietly. 'I guess this means that we'll just have to fight Emerald WEAPON _on our own._ '

The dissent died abruptly. Cloud stepped forward and offered Reno his hand. It was taken. 

'So, _allies_,' said Cloud pointedly. 'Let's go to work.'

****

CHAPTER 7

An emergency meeting of Avalanche was held on _Highwind II_ – now Cloud, Tifa and the Traveller's only home – three days after the transformation of the newly-acquired Earth Harp into the Master Materia. Reeve was the first to speak. 

'I think we can safely say that our destruction of Emerald WEAPON was a bad idea,' he said tersely. 

'That's the understatement of the century,' muttered Cid. 

'Damn straight!' yelled Barret. 

'Shortly after the fight was over, Mount Nibel erupted sweeping Nibelheim away under molten lava. Junon was destroyed by a tidal wave. The Gold Saucer's main support pillar was cracked by an earthquake precipitating the superstructure of the park to the desert surface. We owe our eternal thanks to the emergency services that there were, miraculously, no casualties.'

No-one said anything. Everyone knew that the emergency services existed only thanks to the investment, management and co-operation of Reeve's, Cid's and Barret's companies. Emergency services had been just one of many concessions to the people that Rufus Shinra and his father had vetoed. 

'Thanks to our rashness and hubris, Cloud, Tifa, the Traveller and thousands of others have been left homeless. Dio and his daughter are penniless. The hundred million Gil which Lady Yuffie has offered for each Materia will not go even one percent of the way to repairing the damage.

'It goes without saying that our mission is over.'

Silence reigned. Most of the people present nodded quietly. Tifa sniffed and blew her nose. 

'Well, since we're all in agreement, myself, Cid and Barret have all pledged in advance to do our best to repair the damage we've caused. Lady Yuffie, can we expect you to allocate a similar donation of resources?'

Lady Yuffie was about to speak, and from the look on her face it was not about to be good, but Cloud barely whispered:

'I'm not sure about this…'

'What!?' barked Reeve, turning on his heel. 

Cloud looked, if anything, worse than he had before going into battle. He no longer appeared scared, but both himself and his wife were dressed in oversize, borrowed clothes. He had not shaven in three days and looked not to have slept in that time either, while Tifa's eyes were red rimmed with crying and remorse. Still, he got slowly to his feet from where he had slumped against the wall. 

'I'm not sure that we have to give up on the mission. Surely the property damage is offset by the removal of the shipping threat?'

'The answer has to be a categorical _no_!' yelled Reeve in fury. 

'Then what of the Silmaril? Surely such a prize is worth a small amount of damage?'

'_Small amount of damage? _Less occurred in the last war! And of what use is a Materia which can resurrect one person while another commits suicide?'

'I can see the logic of that,' muttered Vincent almost inaudibly. No one reacted to him. 

'Screw the Silmaril,' snapped out Yuffie, 'what about the rest?' Today she was wearing her royal regalia, but she started shedding it as they spoke. 

'The other materia are of use only for war! The time for wars is over!'

Yuffie raised her eyebrows. 

'I will not act again to harm the Planet in such a way,' growled Nanaki, 'nor will I allow it to go on!' The feline creature began to crouch, his eyes narrowing. 

'Damn, the Planet's what the whole of Avalanche was fighting for!' railed Barret. 

'No amount of profit can be worth the price we would have to pay,' rasped Cid. 

'I don't accept any of this,' hissed Yuffie. She had emerged from underneath her costume, abandoned on the floor, clad in black lycra shorts and vest. She had clearly been concealing her shuriken beneath the costume – she held it and the war-fan defensively by her side. She started backing, almost imperceptibly, towards the exit. 'I'm prepared to do _anything _to get those Materia. And what's a few natural disasters between friends? None of them have hit Wutai yet!' 

'You little bitch!' yelled Barret, and levelled his gun. There was a collective gasp. 

'Barret, stop!' cried Reeve in horror. 'We can't let this degenerate into violence!' 

'I don't care what any of you say,' said Cloud, a strange light in his eyes. 'None of you have a right to keep the Silmaril from me. More hangs on this than you can know.' 

'I think we do know,' said Tifa, dry-eyed. She stood up and began walking towards him slowly. He backed away, sending him closer to Yuffie, who was now openly crouched in an attacking pose. 

To the shock of everyone, Vincent moved over by the two. 'I myself may have some use for the Silmaril,' he said, his voice pained. 'I too may have someone I would like to bring back, to set the record straight… to do what I should have done before…'

'You stay out of this, dead guy! This is none of your affair!' roared Barret, levelling his gun again. 

'Barret… stop,' said Tifa wearily. She stepped in front of him. 'We feared this might happen.'

'What? Feared what might happen?' snapped Cloud. With growing horror he beheld the faces of Cid and Reeve filled with a sickening, patronising sympathy. 

'Cloud…' said Tifa hesitantly. 'We think your obsession he gone beyond all sane considerations. We think you're no longer in control of your actions. We think you're… not well.'

'_What the hell are you talking about_?'

'He won't listen to reason.' said Tifa sadly. 'Take him down… but don't harm him.'

'NO WAY!' yelled the warrior, and put his hand to the hilt of his Ultima sword for the _iaijutsu_ strike that would take Barret's gun-arm off at the elbow. Yuffie sliced her war-fan through the air ahead of her and pulled her shuriken back for a lethal throw. Tifa raised her gauntlet, face growing tight and cold.

Vincent merely lifted his arm and gestured. 

Cloud started to draw his sword with lightning speed before finding himself surrounded by a green glow. Unable to stop, he struck his blow and found he had cleaved through empty air. The _Highwind_, his treacherous wife and his so-called friends were all gone. Instead he was on a grassy plain. He staggered, recovering his balance from the failed strike. 

'What the hell was that?' hissed Yuffie. She wheeled and scanned the horizon, obviously finding it difficult to believe that her enemies had vanished so abruptly. She stopped dead, spotting the _Highwind_ high above in the air. It banked sharply and started heading for them. 

'Exit-All materia,' said Vincent tersely. 'We would have been lost against that crew. This way we can fight another day.'

'Screw that! I'm fighting _now_!' raged Cloud. 

Vincent pulled at his sleeve. 'Cloud, this materia only gives us a few seconds to dash for safety!' 

'I'm outa here,' declared Yuffie, and started sprinting for the swamps. 

Grinding his teeth, Cloud followed. 

Thus took place the schism between the_ Dark Three_ and _Avalanche: Regeneration_. 

***

Later, in the Mythril Mines, the _Highwind_ and all pursuit having been finally eluded, the three fugitives slumped in a cave and stared at each other. 

'We lost them,' heaved Yuffie. She was no slouch in terms of physical fitness, but compared with the enhanced metabolisms of Cloud and Vincent – who were not even breathing hard – she was at a disadvantage.

'We did,' muttered Vincent. 'But it was a bitter pursuit. I have no doubt the others will hunt us down for this day's work.'

'It means nothing,' rasped Cloud, face distorted by rage. He stood up slowly, and held his Ultima blade out ahead of him. Inside its slots, the three Master Materia burned. 'I will not give up easily, or at all.

'Let those in agreement join me… An oath we shall swear in the name of the Planet. We shall not cease until the Materia is within our possession, and we shall pursue with great vengeance and furious anger all those who seek to bar our way!'

'I'll drink to that!' grinned Yuffie, putting her hand down on Cloud's.

'My path is set,' murmured Vincent, putting his hand down over hers. 

Even after the oath was sworn and the handgrips broken, Cloud continued to scream out to the caverns:

'How the fuck could she do this to me? HOW THE FUCK COULD SHE DO THIS TO ME?'

And the oath lived on. 

****

CHAPTER 8

The rendezvous had been arranged for an underground club in the slums of Midgar. Few people wished to live here any longer other than rebellious teenagers pursuing alternative lifestyles. This club was the favoured nightspot for one such sect of the young people called the _visualka. _The music was loud – loud enough that no illicit conversations could possibly be overheard – and the clothes were outrageous – outrageous enough that any fugitives wishing to evade recognition could achieve just that. 

This was, of course, the attraction for Cloud, Yuffie and Vincent – or the Dark Three, as the sensationalist media had dubbed them. Cloud was clad in a morass of black leather trousers, shirt, waistcoat and trench coat, festooned with steel chains and silver ornaments. A black wig concealed his close-shaved blonde hair, and his glasses were gone. His astigmatism was such that he could see well enough to fight, but had lost a considerable amount of visual detail. Black lipstick, eyeliner, mascara, and nail polish over white foundation completed the disguise. His sword was hidden beneath the trench coat on his back. 

Yuffie had, of course, lost her royal regalia aboard the _Highwind_, but it would have been too easily recognisable in any case. She was clad in a black rubber miniskirt and corset, her fan hidden underneath the whalebone ribbing keeping her back painfully erect. She could do nothing to conceal her western features, but her complexion was buried under white foundation and her eyes surrounded with black makeup. A spiky white wig topped her off. Vincent was dressed in enormously baggy shorts and sweater, wearing dark glasses and carrying a surfboard (inside which his Death Penalty rifle was concealed). Odd tribal warpaint coated his face, and his lustrous dark locks had been tinted purple. 

These disguises were to defend them from a very real threat. The combined forces of SPEC, CCMC, RESCU and Cosmo Canyon under Tifa's overarching leadership had been given orders to hunt them down and take them alive. Cloud had been declared legally insane, Yuffie a hostile secret agent and Vincent an escaped scientific abomination; all had also been classified "Extremely Dangerous – Not to be approached by the public". All communications with Wutai had been severed or blocked, and though the western nation had declared a state of hostility as a result, it meant that no help was available for the fugitives from that direction. The Dark Three were learning what it was to be outsiders the hard way. 

Their enemies could do this. The chaos following the fall of Shinra had meant that the new-risen companies had all maintained substantial private armies, and Cosmo Canyon had had to defend itself against insurgents from the time of Nanaki's parents. Fortunately, the _visualka _did not recognise the outsiders (or care if they did.) The only attention they got was from young men and women drawn like flies to Yuffie's more than ample bosom practically falling out of her corset, and the androgynising effect of the makeup on the handsome features of Vincent and Cloud. No amount of threats or actual violence could ease the pain – the _visualka_ actually seemed to enjoy the challenge. 

It was therefore with combined relief and irritation that the three spotted the Turks, similarly disguised, descending the stairs. Relief as it meant their torment was now at an end; irritation because the Turks (with the exception of a very uncomfortable Elena) seemed to be quite at home with the looks and the lifestyle. 

'What took you so long?' growled Cloud as they approached. 

Reno approached their table, flanked by his employees. He gave the Dark Three – awkward and embarrassed and furious in their attention-seeking getup – a long, slow, insolent gaze, tracking across Yuffie's bosom and Cloud's makeup and Vincent's surfboard. His black-painted lips twisted upwards in a smile. 

'Don't we all look so ravishing,' sneered Reno. 

'You're late!' hissed Yuffie. 'We've been here half hour and I've been groped six times!'

'Seven,' muttered Vincent. 

'I've had my middle leg felt,' growled Cloud. 'By a _man,_ no less!' 

'All part of the fun!' grinned Reno. 

'I'm never going to look at my boobs in the same light again!' wailed Yuffie. 

'Neither am I,' Reno practically drooled, his black-ringed eyes (with all of mascara, eyeshadow, eyeliner, and the permanent dark circles of chronic alcoholism, stress and fatigue) now locked-on to Yuffie's cleavage like a skin-seeking missile. 

Yuffie turned white beneath her makeup, uttered something in her mother tongue which sounded utterly foul and groped towards her back for the iron war-fan beneath her corset. Cloud wearily stuck out his arm and held her weapon wrist in a grip like iron. Yuffie struggled briefly, but helpless against Cloud's mako-enhanced strength, she contented herself with stamping her foot and glowering. Cloud cautiously released her and she snatched her hand away in a flounce, rubbing her wrist under the table when she thought no one was looking. 

'At least no-one is going to recognise us,' muttered Cloud. 'So what if I'm going to be in therapy for the rest of my life?'

'Well, it looks like if Tifa has her way, you will!' grinned Reno, and laughed like a drain. 

Cloud glowered. 'That is of no concern of yours. We invited you here solely to discuss the terms of the deal.'

'Ah yes… the deal. We help you defeat Ruby WEAPON for… how much?'

Cloud, Yuffie and Vincent exchanged glances. 'Ten million gil,' said Cloud eventually. 

The Turks' eyes widened. 'Done,' said Reno instantly. Cloud had to suppress a smile. Evidently they hadn't heard that Yuffie had previously been offering ten times that for each Materia. _Maybe I should have offered them even less, _Cloud thought. 

'So when would you like to do the deed?' prompted Reno. 'You are of course aware that Avalanche: Regeneration's forces are blockading the desert. They have Ruby WEAPON completely surrounded.' 

'Let's meet here again in seven days,' said Cloud. 'By then, one of us may have thought of a plan. We have your cell-phone number; we'll contact you if we think of anything any earlier.' 

'That will be just fine,' smirked Reno. 'Let's shake on the deal.'

Everyone shook hands with everyone else, a total of nine handshakes. Then, to keep up appearances, there were some more excruciating kisses. Then finally, the Turks took their leave. 

'Thank god,' muttered Cloud. 'Now we can get out of here.'

'Cloud,' said Vincent, 'Is it correct that one of the Turks was once a homeless street urchin, specialising in sleight of hand and pickpocketing?'

'Yes,' said Cloud, getting up to leave and dreaming of being able to wash off this awful makeup. 'Reno, I think,' 

'No,' said Yuffie, trying without success to stuff more of her bosom back into her dress, 'surprisingly, it was Elena. Tseng took her in years ago. Everything she's been since then has been a reaction against that.'

'You shook hands with Elena, right Cloud?' prompted Vincent with uncharacteristic anxiety. 

'Oh _no._' Cloud grabbed at the Wizard Bracelet hidden beneath his leathers. A paralysing horror seized him. 

The Master Materia were gone.

***

'Okay, all clear.'

The once-mighty Gold Saucer had been reduced to a heap of twisted, verdigrised wreckage scattered across the burning floor of the desert. Now in the dead of night, it was freezing. Ignoring the cold, a tiny figure with blonde hair emerged from the shadow of the huge saucer section that dwarfed her. She was closely followed by two others. 

'Good job none of the wreckage blocked up our secret passage to the Corel prison town,' commented Rude as he heaved himself up out of the ground. 

'Good job I remembered our secret tunnel in the first place!' crowed Reno. 

'Sometimes you amaze me, Reno,' muttered Elena. 'Sometimes all your demerits seem as nothing. Sometimes I can see past the drinking… and the floozies… and the drugs. Sometimes-'

'Now shut it!' roared the boss. 

Reno did not bother keeping his voice down, or otherwise attempting to conceal their presence. There was no need. It was true that _Avalanche: Regeneration_ had the desert locked down, blockaded and surrounded. But for reasons of health and safety they had left a twenty-mile radius around Ruby WEAPON, and naturally they were expecting intruders from without, not within. None of their attention was turned on the wreckage of the Gold Saucer… or the WEAPON. 

The WEAPON. It all came down to the WEAPON. Elena shivered as she beheld the titanic creature five hundred metres away. Towering higher than the Shinra building, its insect-like eyes glittered under the stars. Two huge tentacle-like claws undulated slowly through the air before it. And Elena was afraid. 

'Sir, are you still sure this is a good idea?' she whispered as Reno confidently set off for the monster. 

'Of course! We have the three Master Materia (One each) do we not? Soon, we will be able to acquire the Gold Chocobo and the other five Materia, and then there's not a force in the world that can stop us. I can just imagine how much I'm going to charge to bring dead folk back.' He visibly slavered at the thought. 

'But sir, we don't have the others to help us now, and-'

'Nonsense! We don't need the others. Each of these Master Materia is the equivalent of an army.'

Elena fell silent, her only comradeship her own deep misgivings. 

After approaching within two sword lengths of the WEAPON's claws the trio came to a halt. Reno frowned up at it, lost in thought. The monster did absolutely nothing. 

'You would have thought that it would have attacked us by now,' muttered Rude, the insectoid eyes reflected in his shades. 

'Sir… it obviously doesn't want to fight… this is our last chance for escape!' whined Elena, plucking at Reno's sleeve. 

'Elena, do you want some attention,' he frowned, impatiently shaking her free. 'Well, it looks like we're going to have to get the ball rolling. Stay sharp, people.'

With shocking speed, Reno lunged forward, covering the distance between himself and the undulating claws in nothing flat. With all his strength he smashed his night stick against the right tentacle's sharp tip, the accelerometers in the hilt triggering a massive surge of electricity. Sparks flew, Reno leaped back and the monster reared in pain. 

What happened next could not have been predicted. 

With speed starkly unimaginable in a beast so huge, the WEAPON slammed its claws down into the sand. The lightning-fast passage of the scales on the visible segments showed that the tentacles were expanding into the sand beyond all recognition. Then suddenly the tips of the tentacles burst from the sand once more – directly under Reno and Rude. 

The pair had no time even to grimace in horror before the claws were upon them. They wrapped around their torsos with crushing force and jerked downwards again with fantastic acceleration. Reno and Rude were pulled into the sand faster than Elena could react, and the ground closed over their forms, leaving only their weapons and armour behind. They did not re-emerge. 

On the stark realisation that her two colleagues and best friends had been buried alive with no hope for escape, Elena screamed. 

The claws burst from the sand again… this time empty. They waved menacingly at Elena, as though daring her to try another blow. 

Elena screamed at them, wordless words of loss accompanied by tears flooding down her cheeks. The insectoid eyes just stared. 

Still weeping, she reached down, gathered up the night stick, Ziedrich and Imperial Guard, and ran for the tunnel. 

***

'And that was the end,' whispered Elena as she crouched in the Dark Three's basement. Tears still ran down her face in streams of mascara. 'I should have stopped Reno and Rude from going. I should have argued harder. I should have…'

'Don't blame yourself,' murmured Vincent. 'Reno was never a man who would allow himself to be dissuaded from a course of action, once decided.'

'Really, it is our fault,' muttered Cloud, staring at the floor. Elena had returned to him the three Master Materia and they now gleamed in the slots of his sword. 'Without us putting the idea in his head, Reno would never have thought to attack the WEAPON.

'We will make amends. When we obtain the Silmaril, we will bring Reno and Rude back.'

'Cloud, how many times are you planning to commit suicide?' queried Vincent incredulously. 

'As many as it takes.'

Yuffie snorted, stalking away and staring at the wall with her hands folded. She had said nothing during this entire exchange but adopted an expression of sneering contempt. 

The Dark Three were currently hiding out in an abandoned basement in a destroyed area. Junk and trash were their only housemates and companions for miles around. Still, Elena had sounded so distressed when she had phoned that Cloud had allowed her to enter their secret base. It would, of course, have to be changed afterwards. 

The group were silent for a while as the last remaining Turk's shoulders shook with sobs, then finally stilled. Eventually, Elena turned her tear-streaked face upwards. 'What's left for me now?'

'For you, the war is over,' said Cloud. From the look on Elena's face it obviously hadn't been the right thing to say, but he carried on regardless. 'For us… the time has come for us to attack Ruby WEAPON ourselves.'

'What?' shrieked the ex-Turk. 'Why? No!' 

'Why… why, there are reasons you cannot understand.' 

'Haven't you been listening? Two of you are destined for final death!'

'I have a plan in mind already.'

'You're mad! You bastard!' and screaming, she flung herself at him. Not expecting this, Cloud fell back, surprised. This didn't stop Elena grabbing him round the throat and squeezing with killing pressure. His eyes bulged wide. 

Vincent and Yuffie forcibly dragged the girl off him. She struggled briefly, then collapsed in their arms, wailing and screaming incoherent abuse. 

'We'll get her out of here,' said Yuffie harshly. The two of them started dragging Elena up the stairs as though she were a sack of potatoes. 

'You do that,' muttered Cloud absently, staring into space and rubbing at his throat, where livid bruises were already showing and pools of blood were forming in the gouges made by Elena's fingernails. 

When the other two returned, Cloud was tapping his foot, deep in thought. 

'Well that got rid of her,' Yuffie commented. 'Silly girl. To think I would give up the materia that easily.'

'True enough. Anyway, I have a plan.'

'Such as?'

'Simply this. The two of you will start the fight _dead_.'

Yuffie and Vincent gasped. 'What the- You're crazy.'

'No. It's the only way.

'I have to kill you before the fight begins, and carry your corpses into battle. Ruby WEAPON will target me as the only threat and the two of us will fight it out. Your dead bodies will be ignored. When I have chance and when its claws are buried, I will revive you both, and you can join me in the fray.'

Yuffie's eyes were wide. Vincent's were merely resigned. 

'That is one _hell _of a plan, Cloud,' breathed Yuffie eventually. 'How can we trust you to resurrect us?'

'If I'm killed in nothing flat… you can't. Perhaps Avalanche will raise us in order to put our reincarnated bodies on trial. But I will do it if I can, you have my word.'

'I trust Cloud,' was all Vincent said. 

'For this prize… I'll risk it,' said Yuffie after a long while.

'Then let's go. I have no doubt Elena will defect to Avalanche: Regeneration within the hour, and the one access route to the WEAPON will be blocked. Let's get to those tunnels before Avalanche does.'

And with that, they were gone. 

****

CHAPTER 9

Unfortunately, they did _not_ get to the tunnel before Avalanche did. 

'Don't even think of trying anything, Cloud,' Tifa advised him. 

'Oh, _bollocks_,' muttered Cloud, keeping his hands in plain view. 

The Dark Three had headed straight to the Shinra Headquarters, where long ago the Turks had built a tunnel to the Gold Saucer and equipped it with an underground bullet train (though more so Reno could get there as quickly as possible to get pissed and stoned than for any reasons of espionage). The trio had taken just half an hour to make it to the desert, fully armed, from their digs. It wasn't enough. They had emerged from the tunnel to find themselves surrounded by the five senior members of Regeneration, every weapon trained on them. A safe distance away from the expected battle were the armies of the world, all those who owed allegiance to Barret, Cid, Reeve or Nanaki. Wutai's forces were sadly absent. 

Reeve shook his head pityingly. 'Elena phoned me right after you threw her out, Cloud. Perhaps you should have been more sympathetic to the poor girl. You also should perhaps have remembered that I was one of her close, personal friends.'

'And just now, my miner boys are making sure no jokers can ever can use this tunnel again,' put in Barret. There was a muffled _crump_ deep beneath the earth, and a line of sand settled lower in the direction of Midgar. 'There it goes.' The Dark Three winced in unison. 

There was a brief period of silence. Hostile gazes filled the air that could've been cut with a knife. 

'So what are you waiting for, you _cowards_?' hissed Yuffie. 'Let's settle this once and for all.' 

'Yeah, let's go,' muttered Cloud. 

'Oh, we have no intention of fighting you,' said Reeve. 

'We care too much for you to allow you to hurt your friends in your madness, Cloud!' burst Tifa. 

Cloud barked out a laugh. 'Oh yeah, like that's believable! Only because you know I could take you with one hand behind my back, you faithless bitch.'

'Cloud, I'll let that insult pass because I know you're mentally ill,' responded his wife sadly. 

'Anyway, we see no reason to risk our lives on your sorry asses,' sneered Cid. 'So we combined our resources and expertise to build a machine that will take you down.'

'They call it Virtual Reality,' said Tifa grimly. 'And it's _my _contribution which will be the deciding factor.'

Reeve turned to her. 'Here's your mask and here's your glove.' He reached into a bag by his side and handed them to her. 

'Thank you.' Tifa pulled over her head a full-faced helmet with bulging, oversized eyepieces. With a sinking feeling, Cloud realised they contained visual displays. She pulled on a huge, armoured gauntlet. 

'Reeve, for this operation I believe I will need _all_ the suit,' came her muffled voice. 

'As you wish,' Reeve began to pull more pieces from his bag. 

The Dark Three could only fume impotently as Tifa began to strap various pieces onto herself which grew to be a huge, cumbersome, armoured suit covered with motion sensors and circuitry, till she was entirely covered in it. It powered up with a dull whine and a storm of LEDs. 'Virtual Reality on-line,' she said, voice now deep, electro-assisted – and echoed by speakers in the opposite direction to the WEAPON. 

Cloud could guess what would come next. 

Tifa shrugged elaborately inside the costume. Yuffie gasped in horror as a huge form rose from the direction of the speakers, blotting out the stars. As Tifa performed the motions of walking it moved towards them. 

It came into view a huge, anthropomorphic robot, towering over hunters and hunted alike. Yuffie was white. Even Vincent looked perturbed. 

'Consider the Dark Three captured,' modulated Virtual Reality, with Tifa's voice. 'Comrades, I suggest you get to a safe distance from the battle.'

'I hear that,' growled Cid, and the four remaining Regeneration members immediately started running for their armies. When they were out of earshot:

'Cloud, it doesn't have to be this way. You can still surrender, and I'll see to it that you get the treatment you need.'

'FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK YOU!' shrieked Cloud in response. A small 'Uh…' from Yuffie went unheard. 

'So be it, then,' Tifa hurled herself into a martial arts ready stance. With terrific speed and simultaneous synchronicity, Virtual Reality did the same. 

Cloud slowly drew his weapon; his companions did the same. 'Relax, Yuffie,' growled the warrior to the shaking girl. 'This is going to be easier than it looks.'

The battle with Virtual Reality began and ended in one second. 

Cloud leapt into the air to the height of Virtual Reality's head and slashed his Ultima sword through the length of the robot's face. The head exploded in a shower of sparks and circuitry; inside the suit, Tifa screamed in agony. Cloud fell back to earth landing gracefully on bent knees; as he sheathed his sword Tifa collapsed, spasmed and was still. Deprived of its control impulses, Virtual Reality froze still and slowly began to fall over. 

'Let's go,' Cloud growled. 

'Awesome!' screamed Yuffie in delight, punching the air. She grabbed Cloud and planted a kiss on him. Cloud did not react. 

'Cloud, don't you think you should check your wife is okay?' said Vincent. Tifa was very still indeed, lying crumpled on her face. 

'Fuck her!' snarled Cloud. 'Vincent, fire up your Exit-All materia and let's get the hell out of here!'

Vincent gestured. The slowly toppling robot was obscured by a green glow. As it faded they found themselves in the middle of an army campsite. It was evidently R & R time. All around them a sea of faces looked up with horror from mess tins, beer, guitars, books and so on. The Dark Three stared back for one second. 

'It's them!' screamed an officer. 'GET THEM!'

'Leg it,' advised Cloud, and leg it they did. 

They ran through the ring of faces, bowling over an unprepared private who was listening to a taped message from his girlfriend. They pelted through an avenue of deserted tents. They were home free! But what was that coming round the corner…

… a tank. Its cannon was swivelling to bear on them. 

'Luck's run _very_ out,' Yuffie gulped, her command of her second language failing her. Vincent, impassive, lowered his Death Penalty in the tank's direction. 

Cloud screamed a wordless battle-cry and hurled himself at the armoured vehicle, making a mighty cleave in mid air. Its cannon sheared off at the root. He leapt over the tank and kept running. 

'Cloud, you are the Man!' said Yuffie in admiration.

'Save your breath,' advised Cloud, still going at top speed. 'We've a lot of desert to get through yet!'

****

CHAPTER 10

Much later that same day, having evaded their pursuers (again) the Dark Three had found themselves a new hideout in the ruins of the Gongaga reactor. Decades after the original explosion, few still lived here, and those who did were elderly and easily within the skills of the Dark Three to evade. Yuffie had collapsed with exhaustion soon after arriving, but Cloud and Vincent were made of sterner (read: genetically manipulated) stuff. 

Vincent was wandering through the ruins on his own, staring into the setting sun, when he found Cloud sitting on his own, gazing unseeing into the riot of red, yellow and orange in the west. He was doing something with his sword. 

'Hello, Vincent,' said Cloud tersely. 

'What are you doing with your sword, Cloud?' prompted Vincent. 

'_Nothin'_,'

'Cloud… you're writing Tifa's name on the blade of your Ultima Weapon.'

'What boots it?'

'Cloud… you're writing Tifa's name on the blade of your Ultima Weapon… with _correcting fluid_.' 

'Go away, Vincent.'

'As you wish.'

***

Later still Tifa received a call on her cell phone. She was asleep, and had only left it on by mistake. She had in fact suffered only mild shock and unconsciousness as a result of the sensory overload following Virtual Reality's destruction. 

'Hello?' she said, voice fogged with sleep.

'I've a blade with your name on it,' hissed a familiar voice, and hung up. 

Tifa could only stare unsleeping into the darkness. 

***

Cloud was lying in bed when the door opened and someone entered. 

The warrior pushed himself up on his elbows. A female form was silhouetted against the window. 

'Tifa?' 

'Hey, gorgeous.' The figure came over, crawled into bed and embraced him. Both were naked. 

Tears flooded from Cloud's eyes. 'Oh God, Tifa, I've missed you so much. I've felt like my life is over.'

'Yeah, I've been wanting to do this for a long time.' She pushed him down onto his back and threw one leg over him, straddling his hips. 

'All this fighting… turning my friends into enemies… I've hated it so much…'

'I don't know. It kind of makes me hot!'

Unfortunately this was the moment at which Cloud happened to _wake up_. 

He was not in his bedroom at Nibelheim, but in a sleeping bag crouched beneath the wreckage of the Gongaga Reactor. The female straddling him was not Tifa, but Yuffie. 

'Aargh! No! Get off me!' shrieked Cloud, swinging at her wildly. Yuffie dodged easily and lowered herself onto him. 

'You must be joking if you think I'd let a handsome guy like you get away without doing him at least once. Besides, your body lets me know that you want it.' Yuffie pinned his arms with her arms, and his mouth with hers. 

Events progressed to their inevitable conclusion. Yuffie manoeuvred herself off Cloud, got up and padded away to the open air. Cloud slowly managed to turn over onto his side, weeping silently. 

'Bye bye, cutie. It's been fun,' she said, blowing him a kiss as she departed. 

Cloud turned over onto his front and buried his face in his hands, unable to stop his tears. His shoulders shook with pain, loss and violation. Above him, the wreckage of Gongaga slowly rusted away. 

__

Is this all that's left of my life before me?

****

CHAPTER 11

On a cold and sunny morning the Dark Three stood atop the now-deserted Fort Condor, weapons drawn. They were expecting a visitor. 

__

Highwind II became visible in the skies over the swamps. It was flying at top speed. Slowing, it was unable to stop in time and banked sharply, approaching the fort from the opposite side. It came to a halt, hanging in the air. 

'WHAT DO YOU WANT?' shrieked Cid's voice over the speakers. Yuffie winced at the noise. Cloud and Vincent did not react. 

Cloud hoisted a megaphone. 

'YOU CAME ALONE, AS THE MESSAGE REQUIRED? YOU TOLD NO-ONE?'

'YES, YOU BASTARDS!'

'THEN ALLOW US ABOARD.'

The _Highwind_ landed on the nearby grasslands, and Cloud, Yuffie and Vincent hurried aboard and headed for the bridge. 

Cid was pacing the floor wildly, hair in disarray, chain-smoking. He looked furious, vengeful – and terrified. The moment he saw Cloud he rushed up to him and shoved a note into his face. 

'WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?'

Cloud had no need for the note to be shoved into his face. He had prepared it himself. 

Like all of its brethren, it had been made up of letters ripped out from newspaper headlines and glued onto paper, and said simply this;

SHERA IS BURIED IN AN SECRET LOCATION WITH A FINITE OXYGEN SUPPLY

UNLESS SHE receives HELP SOON, SHE WILL DIE

COME TO FORT CONDOR 9 AM TOMORROW ALONE

TELL NO ONE 

'So which part of "Shera is buried in an secret location with a finite oxygen supply," don't you understand?' replied Cloud coldly. 

Cid screamed in rage and tried to grab Cloud round the throat. The other two caught his arms and immobilised them in painful elbow locks, dragging the pilot away. He cursed and railed, struggling wildly. 

'You are in no position to waste time swearing,' Cloud informed him coldly. 'The precise level of Shera's oxygen tank is known only to us.' 

Cid uttered one last curse, then slumped and glared at Cloud with intense loathing. 'What do you want, you evil bastard?'

'Our demands are simple. We want to be flown to Ruby WEAPON where your own forces will protect us from any intervention by Avalanche: Regeneration. After defeating the creature, we wish to be conveyed to the Traveller where we will have the Desert Rose transformed into the Gold Chocobo. You will assist us in the _Highwind_ while we collect the five hidden Materia. After we are in possession of all five Materia up to and including the Silmaril, you will be given Shera's location and allowed to leave.' 

If looks could kill, Cloud would have been dead right there. 'You don't want much, do you?' hissed Cid through gritted teeth. 

'We want all these things, I am sure, as much as you want your friend back,' replied Cloud coldly. 

Cid's face crumpled up. 'All right… all right. I'll do whatever you want. Oh God… Shera…'

Cloud's lips turned upwards in a cruel smile. Vincent lowered his eyes, stared at the floor and shook his head. 

***

By the time the other members of Avalanche: Regeneration realised that the SPEC Marine Core was encircling the Ruby WEAPON, it was too late to stop them; and perhaps they had no desire to risk innocent Shera's life either. Cid had radioed ahead, giving his men orders and cursing all the time; he had made no secret of why he was doing it and no doubt one of his lieutenants had conveyed the information to their allies. 

It made no difference to Cloud and his accomplices. All they cared about was the WEAPON. 

Cid flew over the five-mile ring of steel created by his forces, and set his airship down halfway between it and the WEAPON. 

'Get off my damn ship and go and do your dirty work, you bastards,' he cursed at his unwelcome passengers. 

'Thank you for a smooth ride, Cid,' said Cloud imperturbably. 'We will be back presently so you can convey us to the Traveller.'

Cid cursed them again. The three left the airship and walked some distance out into the desert, where Cloud paused. 

'Here is as good a spot as any,' he said. He now carried two weapons. One was the disgustingly powerful Ultima Weapon. The other was Zack's old, distinctly mundane and totally unmagical Buster Sword. 

'Who'd like to go first?'

'Yuffie should go first,' intoned Vincent. 'I am certain that I can stomach death easily. I am not so sure about her,' 

'Up yours, dead guy,' snapped Yuffie. Trying to show no fear, she adjusted her clothing, exposing as much of her midriff as possible. 'Make it quick.'

Cloud drew the Buster Sword in an _iaijutsu _strike and sliced Yuffie in two. Intestines flopped to the desert in a flood of gore. The two halves of the Lady fell side by side, her head next to the soles of her feet. Her attractive face was frozen in an expression of horror. 

'Now would be a good time to check that you have the Phoenix or Revive Materia, or sufficient Phoenix Downs,' said Vincent a trifle uneasily. 

'This cowardice isn't like you, Vincent…' and Cloud struck Vincent's head from his shoulders. It fell to the floor as his body collapsed. His expression was as stoic as ever. 

Cloud paused a second, his stomach complaining at the awful smell of blood, excrement and mesenteries. Then he bent down, placing Yuffie's body parts into a sack he carried. He put Vincent's body parts into another sack. 

Dragging one by each hand, he started walking towards the WEAPON. 

****

CHAPTER 12

Some time after nightfall, there was a knock on the Kalm Traveller's door. 

'Be with you in a minute,' he called, and turned off the soup he was cooking. He walked to the door and opened it on the security chain. He peered out. 

Cloud burst the security chain and smashed the door off its hinges with one good kick, sending the Traveller sprawling back into the room with the door on top of him. He fell on his back, winded. He tried to push the door off himself and get up, but failed. In that moment, he realised what it was _really_ like to be old.

Cloud strode through the broken doorway with a look like thunder. Yuffie and Vincent, faces cold, followed him. Yuffie carried an elaborate rose of crystal ruby. 

'_You!_' gasped the Traveller. 

'Us,' responded Cloud coldly. 

'But – my guards – ' 

'Dead,' said Yuffie. 'A few less warm bodies to stand up to Wutai when the war comes,' 

'No!' said the Traveller and tried to crawl away. Cloud reached down, grabbed him by the lapels and pulled him up to stare him in the face. The Traveller's eyes were wide with terror. 

'Now hear this,' said Cloud through gritted teeth. 'We have buried Cid's friend Shera with a limited oxygen supply. Cast the spell that will transform the Desert Rose into the Gold Chocobo, or her blood is on your hands,' 

But as Cloud spoke he had watched the fear drain slowly from the Traveller's face to be replaced by defiance, courage and determination. 

'No,' said the Traveller.

'_No?_' hissed Cloud furiously.

'No.' said the Traveller defiantly. 'You may have been able to sway Avalanche: Regeneration with your hostage taking and your demands. But Yuffie has just admitted that she plans to use the materia to wage a war.'

'So what, granddad?' raged Yuffie. 'We don't need materia. We've got the ships and we've go the men and we've got the money, too.'

'Your bravado betrays you, whore. You know as well as I that the combined armies of the world outnumber Wutai's five to one. Your only hope is that the seven martial materia can give you the edge!'

Yuffie kicked him. 'The army of Wutai is stronger than all, old man!'

'Whatever. Whether or not this is the case, in a war involving this Materia's destructive power, many millions will die; innocent victims impaled upon the swords of the Knights of the Round to fuel Yuffie's dreams of conquest. One woman's death is nothing compared to this. I am sure she would be willing to sacrifice herself if she knew what was at stake. And… I consider it a small price to pay. I will not help you.'

Cloud merely shrugged. 'Well, so be it. The death of Shera doesn't sway you. I guess we'll have to give up and go home.'

The Traveller smiled in triumph. Cloud dropped him abruptly; he gasped. Yuffie and Vincent grabbed his arms and held him motionless while Cloud paced the floor. 

Cloud paused and stared out of the window. 'Let me tell you a story.

'Once upon a time, a man had a son. His lover died in childbirth, so he had to raise the baby alone. It was the hardest and yet the most rewarding thing he had ever done. 

'When the boy was old enough to stand on his own two feet, this man took his son with him on his endless travels throughout the world, intending to show him the wonders of the Planet.'

The Traveller's face had drained of all colour. 

'But something was wrong. It soon became apparent that the boy hated travelling; he wanted nothing more than to settle down, attend the same school and see the same friends every day. He loved classrooms, study, quiet learning and the company of like-minded others. His father tried to give him this life, but could not contain his wanderlust. He loved adventure, travel, learning by doing and experiencing. 

'Both lifestyles were incompatible. Before the boy had reached the age of five, there was already bad blood and bitter recriminations enough to last most fathers and sons their entire lives. It was with great sorrow that the father finally agreed to send the boy to the Planet's most exclusive boarding school in Midgar. The money was no object – the father had wealth beyond the dreams of most – but the father was gravely disappointed in the boy's wishes. 

'As time went on the two grew further and further apart. The boy was ambitious, and craved wealth and power. His father hated these things and truly despised what his son was becoming, as his son equally despised him. 

'Events finally came to a head at the formal dinner at which President Shinra announced the promotion of the boy to director of the Sector Six Mako Reactor. The father condemned the greed and short-termism of everyone present, only to find his son cursing him back for outdated ideas and wooly liberalism. The father stormed off, wrote his son out of his will and each cut off all communication with the other. 

'That was over twenty years ago. You have not seen your son since then, nor spoken, phoned or written.'

The Traveller's eyes were squeezed shut in pain, his head lowered. Cloud raised it by the chin and held a photo taken with an instant camera to his face. 

'Do you recognise your son?'

Despite himself, the Traveller opened his eyes. 'NO!' he shrieked. 

The photograph showed a man, bound, gagged and beaten. 

'Your son is now sharing Shera's oxygen tank.' Cloud informed him coldly. 'Heed our demands, or _both_ of them will die.'

Something visibly broke inside the Traveller. His face went slack. He whispered inaudibly. 

'What was that?' said Cloud sharply. 

'What do you want me to do?' whispered the Traveller, tears spilling unnoticed down his cheeks. 

Cloud smiled in triumph. Yuffie and Vincent released long-held breaths. 

'Firstly, you will transform the Desert Rose into the Gold Chocobo.' Yuffie held out the rose, as if on cue. 'Secondly, you will write down the exact procedure required to carry out true resurrection using the Silmaril. When we have what we want, we'll reveal the location of the hostages.'

The Traveller nodded weakly. Weeping, he took the Desert Rose and shuffled over to the Guidebook. 

****

CHAPTER 13

The disasters that struck the planet after the fall of Ruby WEAPON far outstripped those following the fall of Emerald. Large portions of Wutai and the whole of Midgar sank beneath the sea. Much of the population of Wutai was forced to relocate to mountain tops and aircraft carriers. However, since it was constitutionally impossible for a monarch of Wutai to do anything wrong, Cloud and Vincent were assigned the blame and a vendetta was declared. Enrolment in Wutai's armed forces jumped to a record high. 

Meanwhile, in Midgar, hordes of visualka found out what it was like to die. It wasn't quite as fun as they'd been expecting. 

When all this was over many thousands were dead. The three people responsible for this atrocity, however, cared nothing for any of it. They were busy collecting hidden materia in their commandeered airship with their Gold Chocobo. 

In the final location, on an island far from any chartered land, Cid, Yuffie and Vincent waited by the entrance to a very dark cave. The Gold Chocobo stood nearby, smiling with the continual mindless cheerfulness of all its species. Cid was fuming, pacing up and down in the small space available and chain-smoking very strong cigarettes. Vincent was stoic, standing utterly motionless. A strange light burned in Yuffie's eyes; her face was flushed, her breathing rapid. 

Finally a light became visible in the tunnel. Yuffie leaned forward, mouth opening. Cid froze still and glared murderously into the cave. 

Cloud came into view, awe in his face. In his hands, he held a Materia that blazed with the light of the sun and the moon. 

'The Silmaril…' breathed Cloud. 'The power of resurrection is mine.' 

'What _ever!_' yelled Cid. 'I've done what you wanted me to do. Give me the location of the hostages _now!' _

'You've earned it,' said Cloud and scribbled on a piece of paper. He handed it to Cid. 

'Right!' barked Cid. Before anyone could react, he had leapt aboard the Gold Chocobo, the only means of transport to and from this island. He spurred it out on the sea, then turned to address them. 'If those hostages are dead, I'll be using your livers as ornaments on my airship!'

'Don't worry,' muttered Cloud, mesmerised by the swirling colours of the Silmaril. 'They have enough oxygen for months. I'm not like Kotch.'

But Cid had already sped off over the ocean. 

'Ahem,' said Yuffie unsubtly. 'How about _my_ little piece of honey?'

'Your help has been invaluable,' said Cloud with some sarcasm. 'Here.' He popped the seven other materia from his Ultima Weapon and handed them to Yuffie. In their place, he slotted the Silmaril. 

Yuffie's eyes blazed.

'Thank you,' she hissed. 'I don't suppose it means anything to any of you… but the words the Traveller spoke are true. With this Materia, I intend to wage a war. Wutai is now a great military power once again and with this Materia, we will be unconquerable. We shall fight until the last person of Wutai is dead, we shall never surrender… but it will never come to that. For soon Wutai will rule the world, and the entire planet will capitulate to one throne. And from that throne, _I_ shall rule over you.' 

'Myself and Aeris will be happy no matter what.'

'I am sure Lucretia will prefer any world to the Limbo she dwells in now,' 

'Huh,' muttered Yuffie. 

'Looks like we're stranded, Cloud, along with anyone we do manage to resurrect,' pointed out Vincent as Cid dwindled to a dot in the distance. 

'No worries,' said Yuffie confidently. 'I'll call my air force on my cell phone once you've done your business.'

'"Our" business?' queried Cloud. 

'After all we've been through together… I want to see this,' grinned the girl. 

***

The ritual was long and tedious. Yuffie was clearly bored, but from long practise at state functions she managed to conceal most of it. Vincent, by contrast, appeared fascinated; his mouth continually moved, as though he was memorising the passages for his own use. 

Eventually Cloud came to the end… and paused. Everyone knew what was coming next. 

Slowly, he took the Buster Sword from his back and placed it before him. For this part of the ritual, Cloud was kneeling on a square of white cloth, a white headband with a strange design upon it about his skull. The Silmaril lay between him and the weapon. Vincent was standing behind him as his second, holding another nonmagical sword.

'Vincent… you do have that Revive materia I have you… don't you?' whispered Cloud _sotto voce_. 

'Now who's cowardly,' muttered Vincent almost inaudibly. 'Yes, I have it. I know what to do.'

'Then let's do it.'

With slow, deliberate movements, Cloud reached for the Buster Sword. He raised it in the air before him, then reversed the blade, so that it pointed at his stomach. He shifted his arms on the hilt, to get a better degree of force for the final thrust. 

'Klaatu barada nikto!' screamed Cloud. The final words of the spell. He raised the Buster Sword ready for the killing blow. 

And hesitated. 

Vincent almost took his sweep, but halted too. 'Cloud? What's wrong?' 

No-one could ever after say what caused Cloud to hesitate. Perhaps it was the thought of Tifa, the wife he would now never be able to go back to. Perhaps it was how Aeris would react on learning how many innocent lives her resurrection had cost. Perhaps it was the thought that he himself was now far more evil than Sephiroth had ever been. Perhaps it was none of these. But for whatever reason, he hesitated for just a second. 

What was certain was that he would have completed the ritual, for he tensed the muscles in his arms; but at that moment, Sephiroth appeared from nowhere in front of them. 

'Sephiroth!' shrieked Cloud, dropping the Buster Sword and reaching for the Ultima Weapon. Vincent grabbed his arm. 

'Cloud, stop!' cried Vincent. 'It's a hologram. A video image. He must have recorded this before he died.'

Cloud could only watch in horror as Sephiroth's image addressed the empty air, staring confidently out to sea.

'Cloud? Is that you?

'I assume so, as only you could have the willpower, the courage and the fighting ability to get so far in a mission so complicated, so dangerous… 

'And so pointless. 

'By now, you're probably bleeding out your life through your ruptured intestines, and your companions are sinking into the sea. For this island, and the Silmaril, are phantoms – items created solely through my psychic power. There _is _no Resurrection True materia!'

'NO!' shrieked Cloud. But the words Sephiroth had spoken were true. The Silmaril had evaporated into nothing, and the island – now revealed to be sand held together by telekinesis – was crumbling away into the ocean. 

Yuffie was talking rapidly into her cellphone. 

'Air Force One? Yuffie. Listen, I need you to come to this location _immediately-_' she stopped and looked at her phone. 'Aw, _crap_!' she screamed, flinging the phone into the sea. 'The battery's dead!'

Neither Cloud nor Vincent paid any attention. They watched Sephiroth's last words recorded long ago, mesmerised, as the island disintegrated beneath them. 

'In my years spent in my cocoon beneath the North Crater, I learned to project myself psychically. I travelled the whole Planet, at speeds the Traveller could not even dream of. I learned secrets you would not believe. And, knowing that my enemies would one day attempt to prevent my apotheosis, I condensed all this knowledge into the Guidebook – a manual to trap the unwary. 

'I made sure that all but one element of the Guidebook was true – that section which concerned the fake Materia that I created. The seven other materia all exist, can be obtained in the way described and no doubt would be very useful to someone. However, it was always my intention that those who obtained it would die, their own weapons tearing through their intestines, and the materia would vanish beneath the surface of the sea. That is, unless the Ruby and Emerald WEAPONs didn't dispose of my enemies for me first. 

'When I began my quest, and my principal opponents became those laughable wastrels AVALANCHE – the failed clone, the foolish barmaid, the last representatives of rightly dying, non-viable races, failures, losers, outcasts all – events played right into my hands. I knew that the death of the Cetra bitch would inspire _someone _to seek out my pretty Silmaril, and throw away his or her life in the process.

'And so, permit me to assume it's you, Cloud – apologies to whomever else has just stupidly thrust their own weapon through their stomach and now lies bleeding to death, if you haven't already had your head cut off. By now, if all goes to plan, my Meteor should be hanging in the skies above Midgar, and all chance of preventing me from becoming a god dies here with you. As I rule the galaxy, I shall remember you fondly. It couldn't have happened without you. 

'And so, I say… farewell.'

The image of Sephiroth vanished. 

Cloud slumped. His face was blank of all expression. 

'Oh my god, we're all gonna die!' wailed Yuffie. She started to cry. 'I want my daddy,' she whimpered pathetically. 

Vincent sighed. 'And the story ends,' he said. 

The island finally gave up the ghost and deposited them in the waves. Yuffie shrieked and thrashed around in the water, as though deliberately trying to tire herself out. Vincent moved his hands in slow, sculling circles, keeping his nose and mouth afloat. Cloud made no movement at all, staring dully into the sea. The weight of the swords pulled him onto his back, where he just about floated. His empty eyes stared into the sky. 

'We're all gonna _die!_' wailed Yuffie. 

'All the quicker for you, if you don't calm down,' said Vincent without expression. 

'Let it come,' muttered Cloud. 'We've earned it.'

Just then, a speck appeared in the sky. Vincent's eyes flicked over to it, and his eyebrows rose. Yuffie spied it and started waving wildly. 

'A plane! We're saved!' she shouted, and burst into fresh tears. 

'I don't think this is exactly the plane you'd want to see,' muttered Vincent. For indeed, it was _Highwind II. _

Yuffie gulped, and fell silent. She splashed her face with water and attempted to look arrogant once again. 

Cloud did not react. 

__

Highwind slowed to a halt above them. 'YOU LOT MAY BE A PACK OF BASTARDS,' boomed Cid's hate-filled voice over the speakers, 'BUT SHERA WON'T LET ME JUST LET YOU DIE.'

***

The Dark Three – though they would be called this no longer, and their alliance had ended – were rudely deposited on the first inhabited continent Cid came to. Cid, Shera and the Traveller's son glared at them from the gangplank. 

'I never want to see any of your faces again,' snapped Cid. Yuffie glared back defiantly, Vincent had no expression, and Cloud stared at the floor, a defeated and broken man. 'If I ever see any of you again, I'll kill you. 

'In fact, I think everyone else on the Planet will feel the same. You'll stay away from civilisation if you want to go on living.

'Now I'm going home to wash off the stench of you all.' The three turned away, and the Highwind took off and started heading away.

'Up yours!' shouted Yuffie, waving her fist in its direction. 'Bite me!' Nothing happened; the Highwind kept on its course. 'Until the war, then.' Her brow furrowed as she wondered how to get back to her own continent from this hostile territory. 

'Cloud?' queried Vincent. He did not respond. 

'Cloud,' said the gunman again. 

'What is it,' came a dead voice. 

'What now?' 

'Nothing. Just leave me here.' 

'As you wish,' said Vincent. He turned his back, and walked away. 

****

EPILOGUE – V1 

Some say our story ends in this way. 

On a cold winter's night months later, Tifa slowly walked home through the crowded city streets, head bowed against the heavy snow. Her job that afternoon had been especially trying, especially since her heart had gone out of it. But the kids seemed to like her well enough. Her classes were always packed out, the waiting lists stretching for years. 

She hoped it was due to her skills and not due to her notoriety. 

In the weeks following the destruction of Ruby WEAPON, her friends had extended her every possible help in rebuilding her life. She had accepted the gift of an apartment in one of the dormitory towns for Cid's factory workers, and now she taught there as well, wanting to pay her own way. 

She had gone on with what she was doing before, keeping her master Zangan's teachings alive. But she had never smiled or laughed again. 

On the sidewalk up ahead, a vagrant had collapsed in a snowdrift. Around him the crowd was parting like an island in a stream. 

Time was, that on coming to this hectic metropolis, the sight of the beggars and vagrants had broken Tifa's heart, sent her into tears. Mostly victims of mental illness, substance abuse or broken homes, they were the inevitable downside of a skyrocketing economy. It had been all she could do to stop herself giving them money, food, even shelter in her own house. But she had learnt the hard way that all they did was spend the money on substances, try to sell the food for same or disregard it altogether, or get extremely violent when out of public view. Now, she put her head down, avoided eye contact and walked past with everyone else. 

She was trying to do exactly that when the vagrant grabbed her ankle. 

She burned with embarrassment and tried to pull free surreptitiously. But the vagrant held on with a grip like iron. 

'What do you _want_?' she cried, turning to face the vagrant. 

'Tifa?' it said in a mix of wonder and terror.

Her eyes opened wide. '_Cloud?'_

The vagrant was dressed in a multitude of coats and rags, stinking of fuel alcohol and urine. His face and head were tangled with a mass of filthy blonde hair and beard. His left arm had been lost at the elbow. 

But for all that, underneath was still Cloud. 

'Cloud!' screamed Tifa. 'What the hell are you doing here? You need medical attention!' She crouched down next to the vagrant and attempted to hug him. Inexplicably, he pulled back in absolute terror. 

'What are you doing? It's me, Cloud.'

'Tifa,' said the vagrant with shaking voice, 'can you ever forgive me?'

Hot tears burnt from Tifa's eyes. 

'Yes… Yes, Cloud. I forgive you.'

****

EPILOGUE – V2

But there exists another conclusion to our dark and grim tale. After throwing his life away on a false and hollow quest that he had failed, Cloud decided to die. Yuffie and Vincent were unable to find it within themselves to persuade him otherwise, and thus he made of himself an ending. Not even Tifa could find it in her heart to mourn.

****

GAVIN MITCHELL 26/10/02

How

oHo


End file.
